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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23175892">our time together</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/dream_hxney/pseuds/dream_hxney'>dream_hxney</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>NCT (Band), WAYV</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst with a Happy Ending, At least I think so??? But I may have taken some liberties hehe, Canon Compliant, Cuddling &amp; Snuggling, Cute, Fluff and Angst, Jungwoo being appreciated, Kim Jungwoo (NCT)-centric, M/M, One Shot, One Shot Collection, Overusing the word baby, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Trigger warnings are inside chapters if there are any, Usually there aren't any but I don't want to trigger anyone, use of their real names, very light angst</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 15:02:44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>35,405</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23175892</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/dream_hxney/pseuds/dream_hxney</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jungwoo spends time with his members and shows them how much he loves them</p><p>(Or a one-shot collection with Jungwoo and the nct/wayv members)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dong Si Cheng | WinWin/Kim Jungwoo, Huang Ren Jun/Kim Jungwoo, Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Kim Jungwoo, Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Kim Jungwoo, Kim Jungwoo &amp; Liu Yang Yang, Kim Jungwoo &amp; Qian Kun, Kim Jungwoo (NCT)/Everyone, Kim Jungwoo/Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten, Kim Jungwoo/Lee Donghyuck | Haechan, Kim Jungwoo/Lee Jeno, Kim Jungwoo/Lee Taeyong, Kim Jungwoo/Mark Lee (NCT), Kim Jungwoo/Moon Taeil, Kim Jungwoo/Na Jaemin, Kim Jungwoo/Nakamoto Yuta, Kim Jungwoo/Park Jisung (NCT), Kim Jungwoo/Qian Kun, Kim Jungwoo/Suh Youngho | Johnny, Kim Jungwoo/Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas, Kim Jungwoo/Xiao De Jun | Xiao Jun, Kim Jungwoo/Zhong Chen Le, Wong kun hang | Hendery/Kim Jungwoo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>436</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. 𝚃𝚊𝚎𝚒𝚕</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>There will be a chapter (one-shot) for each member of NCT / WayV, with Jungwoo as the main character in every chapter.<br/>(even though we haven't seen Jungwoo with all the members from WayV lol)</p>
    </blockquote><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jungwoo feels lonely</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jungwoo stood shivering in the corner of the room. He couldn't help the feeling of loneliness from creeping upon him, surrounding his mind and thoughts with darkness so cold that not even the coldest winter in Seoul could compare.</p><p>It had been like that for quite some time now. These feelings had been there for quite some time. They had appeared when Taeil had started to drift away from him. When Taeil had started to become closed off and unfamiliar. That resulted in them not being as close as they were before debut, when they were just two trainees trying to make it, in a company full of determined and talented people.</p><p>The feeling of loneliness and emptiness had escalated as fast as they had grown apart. Now, he really just wanted Taeil to notice him. He would be satisfied with just the smallest bit of attention. </p><p>But who was Jungwoo to make demands? He hadn't even debuted with them. They had to go through so much, so many difficulties, so much hate, and so much trouble to make it as far as they have come now. And they did it together without Jungwoo.</p><p>Jungwoo had always felt like he wasn't contributing with anything in the group. That he was just added because they could and that had had it easy compared to the others, that had had to fight tooth and nail.<br/>
He felt like an unnecessary addition to the group.</p><p>Jungwoo was not surprised that Taeil had gotten closer to someone else. Someone he had shared the burdensome times with. It was even a less of a surprise that it was Winwin he had gotten closer to.</p><p>Winwin had these characteristics and he had this aura that made everyone fall in love with him. He was endearing and innocent. Like a little lamb. Yet it was not something he feigned, it just came naturally.</p><p>He had that adorable half-dimple whenever he smiled. And God, just his smile was breathtaking, even Jungwoo would admit that. His height was just tall enough for the members not blessed with height (Taeil) to hug him and still be comfortable, and he was just small enough for the members that stod above 180 cm (Johnny) to embrace him. His body was lean and even though you couldn't see any prominent muscles, he was strong and flexible. </p><p>To sum it up he was perfect in every aspect, and Jungwoo hated to admit it but really, no one could deny that.</p><p>It was no secret that Jungwoo felt neglected. Well, he definitely didn't speak up about it and he always tried his hardest to seem indifferent. Yet he was sure at least one other member must have noticed his sullen mood. They let him swarm around them more than usual and sometimes he even got permission to cuddle up to one of them.</p><p>Over time they had gotten familiar with his way of affection and even though they were not exactly fond of skinship, they would make an exception for a somewhat depressed Jungwoo.</p><p>When they were trainees and Jungwoo first got there, after a nerve-wracking audition, the others had been highly skeptical of him. Everyone but Taeil was hesitant to welcome him. Jungwoo didn't blame the others for being reluctant since there was (and still is) a lot of competition in the industry and they all wanted to debut. But under those circumstances, Jungwoo quickly got closer to Taeil who was the only one taking care of him in the hard times as a trainee.</p><p>Now though, he had debuted and hence there was no real need for Taeil to take care of him. At least that was what Jungwoo chanted in his head every time Taeil went to Winwin instead of him.</p><p>Jungwoo didn't know if he was jealous or just feeling lonely. He always told himself that the members did love him but it was so hard to believe. Especially when he was as insecure as he was.</p><p>After feeling like this, for what felt like forever, it was revealed that Winwin would take a break from NCT 127 to focus on his promotion with the new Chinese NCT subunit. Thus he would not travel along with them to America for their "Neo City - the origin" tour. </p><p>Even though it was partly sad news (because even though Jungwoo envied winwin's bond with Taeil, he didn't have anything against Sicheng in any way) it was the perfect chance to recover his and Taeil's damaged relationship. The only problem was that Jungwoo had next to no confidence and too much anxiety. This also meant that Jungwoo generally couldn't and didn't do anything about anything. </p><p>Now, Jungwoo stood there in the corner avoiding the others. </p><p>They had just arrived at their third stop on their tour, Miami, and had already been told to make Vlive. It was good for promotion and even though they were all tired they had obediently pulled matching white t-shirts over their head. The red NCT logo was small and printed on just over their chests. They were gathered in a hotel room that Jungwoo didn't even know who belonged to. </p><p>The others stood at the end of the bed, preparing for the Vlive while the staff ushered them to sit on the double bed. While the bed, which was placed in the middle of the room, was fairly large, there was not enough space to room all of them at once. Unless they sat close. </p><p>This was normally not a problem due to them having an exceedingly close relationship but Jungwoo was hesitant to sit next to any of them. He really didn't want to step on anyone's toes. </p><p>Jungwoo eyed the bed from his corner as if it would make the bed double its size just from his desperate stare. It was only when Mark sent a questionable look in his direction, that he quickly jogged over to sit down on the nearest unoccupied area on the bed.</p><p>He was seated between Johnny and Jaehyun on the foot of the bed, practically squeezed between his two members. Jungwoo brought his shoulder up to appear smaller so that they weren't shoulder-to-shoulder and could breathe without touching.</p><p>Despite him not sitting very comfortably it was better to sit like this. Earlier in their career together he had felt like they didn't really like his form of showing his endearment. Accordingly, he had tried to dim down his usual affectionate actions to please them. Especially after Taeil had abandoned him.</p><p>This had lead to him now sitting uncomfortably, awkward and stiff in the front. While Johnny and Jaehyun didn't let any noticeable signs of confusion show, they did share a perplexed glance. Jungwoo was usually so cheerful and energetic, nearly always attached to one of the member's side.</p><p>The members had started to take notice and they were all a tad bit worried. They didn't know if it was just the stress from the new comeback-activities that made him so gloomy or if there really was something wrong.</p><p>After just five minutes of sitting in his awkward and uncomfortable seating, Jungwoo carefully and silently tried to get up from his seat. They hadn't started the Vlive yet and he could disappear from the room unnoticed and happily return to his own hotel room to relax for some time. Alone.</p><p>But right as he made his graceful attempt to get out of the situation, he was pulled down by his wrist.</p><p>The ever so observant leader had grabbed Jungwoo by the wrist and pulled him down before he even got the chance to make a beeline. He stumbled over his feet as he was pulled over to the other side of Taeyong so that he almost sat as the farthest to the left. Now, he was sat between Taeyong and Taeil.</p><p>The once stiff body only stiffened further at the sticky situation it had got itself in.</p><p>Taeyong's caring eyes searched worried for his eyes to make eye contact and when they did, Taeyong sent him a blinding smile. Taeil, on the other hand, had scooted closer to him in a worrying manner.</p><p>"Are you all right, Jungwoo-ya?"<br/>
The whisper was so subtly, that the fans watching their Vlive wouldn't notice anything amiss. (The Vlive had started almost right as Jungwoo was pulled down by Taeyong)</p><p>The familiar smell of Taeil washed over Jungwoo and it was both comforting and nostalgic. Jungwoo used to love the smell of Taeil as it always reminded him of home. Taeil didn't necessarily smell of his childhood home but it was more that Taeil was his comfort and protection when he was a young trainee which was what his home provided. Comfort and protection. Therefore his smell reminded Jungwoo of home.</p><p>Jungwoo almost got tears in his eyes at the deja vu. He couldn't keep this indifferent act up much longer and he really hoped they could talk it out or at least fix the void between them just a little. He missed Taeil</p><p>Jungwoo scooted closer to Taeil to get more of the wonderful smell he emitted.</p><p>Taeil's once worried and hesitant eyes softened at the adorable boy and he let Jungwoo bathe in his scent. It was nearly impossible for Jungwoo to not just hug Taeil and burrow his head in Taeil's neck where the smell was strongest (Jungwoo knew this from experience as he had spent many times in Taeil's embrace sniffing his delicious smell).</p><p>Taeyong observed from the sidelines with a knowing smile. Taeyong, even though he just recently had found out what had caused Jungwoo's sudden unhappiness, was the only one that knew.</p><p>Taeyong was by birth a very observant person but his job as the leader of a 21 member group made his senses even sharper. He knew everything even when people themselves didn't. Thus he had found the reason behind Jungwoo's misery.</p><p>Taeyong was now the one to move from his seating and he got up to sit in the back with Mark. That would give Taeil and Jungwoo space to solve their problem without distractions from their surroundings. Now, Jungwoo only had Taeil at his side. </p><p>Taeil searched for Jungwoo's eyes, just like Taeyong had done minutes before, but this time Jungwoo didn't meet the stare. Jungwoo stared intensely at his jeans covered thighs and started to fiddle with a little loose string that had bothered him ever since he had taken them on. Now though, the string worked as a distraction.</p><p>Taeil gently slid his hands over the bedding as to not startle the awkward boy. He hesitantly placed his hand so it was just behind the younger's waist and calmly leaned on the arm so that he was placed right by Jungwoo's pretty ear. </p><p>Taeil's fingers slowly moved to grip his side.</p><p>Jungwoo flinched when Taeil's fingers snug themself into his belt loops to pull him closer.</p><p>Now that Jungwoo was so close to him, Taeil could whisper without anyone else hearing.</p><p>"We'll talk after the Vlive, hmmm?"<br/>
Taeil ducked his head to catch Jungwoo's eyes that were staring at the bedsheets. Jungwoo had lowered his head so that his fluffy blonde bangs would cover his eyes as to hide his shame.</p><p>He was ashamed that he hadn't done anything about it earlier or at least had talked to someone about it. Instead, he had just worried his band members.</p><p>Jungwoo couldn't stop himself and he daringly looked up into Taeil's warm brown eyes but quickly looked down again. It was too much. He had gone so long without seeing the caring look in the older's eyes, that it was too emotional for him to keep looking into them.</p><p>Taeil made another sound waiting for Jungwoo's answer.<br/>
The fingers in his belt loops caressed his side and another whisper reached his ears.</p><p>"We'll talk it out later but for now, let's just enjoy this"<br/>
Jungwoo nodded hesitantly, afraid to spike Taeil's non-existent anger. And it seemed that Taeil knew the look in the blonde's eyes.</p><p>"I'm not mad, I promise"<br/>
His fingers resumed their action of stroking Jungwoo's side.</p><p>Taeil's fingers had always been soft and caring. And they always knew just how to make him feel better. Even now, when they didn't directly touch his skin, Jungwoo somehow found comfort in the movement of the fingers.</p><p>Taeil's fingers drifted from the belt loops they once clutched, up to the bottom of Jungwoo's t-shirt. They slid under the hem to caress the delicate skin under the shirt. </p><p>Taeil was always amazed by how smooth the blonde's skin was. From the skin on his face to the skin on his stomach. The older had forgotten how much of a pleasure it was to stroke the skin. </p><p>When Taeil saw how Jungwoo's shoulders sunk, he gently put his arm over Jungwoo's shoulders, partly to show that he didn't blame Jungwoo for anything and partly to make Jungwoo less rigid. </p><p>A breathtaking smile slowly blossomed on Jungwoo's soft rosy lips. It was hesitant but the smile was beautiful nonetheless. Taeil could see the usual excitement fill Jungwoo's eyes again and he was now almost vibrating in his spot. He had been lacking all this happiness for so long and it was as if it all filled his body at once.</p><p>Jungwoo was elated that he could finally leave all those dark and sad thoughts behind. He and Taeil were going to talk it out later (more like cuddle it out) and even though Jungwoo was a bit nervous he was looking forward to getting his friend back. Maybe they weren't going to be as close as before but Jungwoo was thrilled to just be on Taeil's good side again. </p><p>Jungwoo quickly stood up just to sit excitedly sit down on the bed again. He was so excited that he couldn't contain himself. Sadly, Jungwoo's sudden burst of energy had meant that the older's hand had slipped from his shoulders. Taeil's didn't even have time to get upset about it, as the taller male practically draped himself over his lap when he had sat back down again. </p><p>Jungwoo eagerly leaned into Johnny, who was holding a phone, to read the fan's comments. Johnny was startled by the sudden eagerness but gladly welcomed it. He turned the phone so that Jungwoo could read the comments without having to get up from his position on Taeil's lap. </p><p>Taeil smiled fondly at the excited boy and wrapped his left arm over Jungwoo, to proceed his rubbing on the tender waist. This also meant that the dainty boy was trapped in his lap. </p><p>Jungwoo wasn't lying directly on Taeil's lap and at this Taeil was not satisfied. His hands at Jungwoo's fragile waist slid up to the back and tenderly pressed down to get the puppy to lie more comfortably. Jungwoo's dainty body caved in to the pressure from the hand and sprawled itself over the lap. Now Jungwoo was lying directly on his lap. </p><p>Taeil didn't move his hands though and instead let them rest on the curve of Jungwoo's back. He couldn't restrain himself from touching creamy skin and again, he let his fingers wander under the shirt's hem. The hands were still placed on the curve of Jungwoo's back but now Taeil could also feel the warmth radiating from the soft skin. </p><p>Jungwoo shivered when Taeil's index finger stroked his sensitive tailbone.<br/>
Goosebumps rose and Jungwoo looked back at Taeil, who just looked pleased with himself. </p><p>The fingers daringly slithered down over the dip on the back, over the lowest part of the tail bone, and landed on Jungwoo's cute bottom. There the hands lovingly petted the butt. </p><p>Jungwoo embarrassingly reddened and quickly sat back beside Taeil. </p><p>"Taeil, that's embarrassing!" Jungwoo whined in the older's ear but the only answer he got was a loving smile from him. </p><p>"I'm pretty sure I have the right to pet you, don't you think, baby?"<br/>
Taeil had gone so long without petting Jungwoo because of his sudden distance to all of them and now Taeil was not going go any longer without cuddling his baby. </p><p>Taeil swung his arm over the said baby's petite shoulders and crossed his own legs. His other hand followed the muscles on Jungwoo's legs and when the other tried to pull his legs to himself, Taeil took them in his hands and placed them over his lap where Jungwoo had just been lying.<br/>
Now Taeil had the perfect access to stroke the thighs as he wished. </p><p>He started to massage along the inner thigh on the leg closest to him and held it in his hands for even better access. But it was not enough for Taeil and his hands once again traveled from one place on Jungwoo's body to another. Now they were down at his ankles to stroke the little strip of bare skin there. </p><p>When the pleasant tingles flew all over Jungwoo's body, he couldn't help but giggle. It was small and almost silent but when Taeil continued brushing the skin on his ankle, he couldn't keep it in. </p><p>Jungwoo's small giggles turned into full-blown laughter and if the other members were annoyed they didn't show it. In fact, they looked rather pleased. They hadn't heard Jungwoo laugh so wholeheartedly in a long time and it was obvious as to why they were so pleased. Taeil fully understood them. </p><p>He couldn't help himself and he dragged Jungwoo by the hips so he was much closer to him. The bashful puppy smiled down at his older friend and Taeil almost fainted from the cuteness it radiated. Taeil cooed up at him and pulled the light boy on top of him to get an even better look at the dazzling smile. </p><p>The smile momentarily faltered but quickly doubled its size when Jungwoo was placed in the brunette's lap again. Jungwoo's legs were spread out on either side of Taeil's hips so they sat face to face. Well, it was more Jungwoo looking down at Taeil and Taeil looking up at him but neither minded. </p><p>Jungwoo bowed down to lean his face on Taeil's shoulder and his own shoulders slumped at the comfortable position he was now in. His head was placed right where the older's scent was strongest and it didn't help his sleepy state. He was exhausted after all the traveling and Taeil's comfortable body was really nice to lean on. Especially since he could hold both of them up. </p><p>Jungwoo nosed around the shoulder where the shirt conveniently had slipped. There was much better access for him to burrow his face there.</p><p>The action was very subtle and the fans didn't really pay them any mind as it was normal for the boys to be cuddling on camera. And the bickering between Doyoung and Taeyong was much more entertaining at the moment. </p><p>Jungwoo folded his legs behind Taeil so that he sat crossed legged and was completely trapping Taeil in his hold.<br/>
Taeil didn't seem to mind as he placed his hands behind Jungwoo's legs.<br/>
Slowly he leaned back on the hands so he could have eye contact with the tall male. </p><p>Jungwoo was not happy with the detachment and followed the movement like a desperate puppy so he could keep his head buried in the neck. </p><p>"Are you tired, baby?"<br/>
Taeil's voice sounded softly in his ear and the only sound he could manage to let out was a small hum. </p><p>When Jungwoo was sleepy he really did resemble a puppy. His tired droopy eyes that resembled those of an exhausted puppy. His fluffy golden hair that shone in the sun and was a mess because of the constant rubbing on Taeil's neck. And at every reaction, Jungwoo made you could almost see the tail wagging behind him and ears flickering from happiness. </p><p>More than just being tired from traveling, he was also mentally exhausted from all the detachment from his members. On the tiresome days, Jungwoo got his energy from the members so with all the avoiding and dodging them it had really drained him. His sleep was also dependent on his mental stability and they all knew that Jungwoo hadn't been sleeping enough as of lately. </p><p>He had a hard time falling asleep because his mind would always wander off. He would think about Taeil, the other members and would he could've, would've, should've but hadn't.<br/>
He would stress about all the things he needed to do and the things he had to do. In all, it was a straining and stressful cycle he had gotten himself into. </p><p>But as he closed his eyes in Taeil's embrace, he knew that he would finally get a peaceful sleep. Because now he had his Taeil back and Jungwoo knew that he would never let that feeling win ever again.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. 𝙹𝚘𝚑𝚗𝚗𝚢</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jungwoo has low confidence in English</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I was imagining them as they looked in the regular era and with Winwin still promoting with nct 127<br/>I miss Winwin being with nct 127</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>All of NCT 127 were standing in the same place. The place was small and compact and for that reason, it was bound to cause a ruckus, a lot of noise, and maybe a headache or two.</p><p>They had stepped into the café after a long but rather friendly (compared to what is usually was) argument about where they should go. Some of the members had to compromise but after some bickering and bribery, they had agreed to just pick a nice place to order some refreshments. And because it was only the members out, the usually stubborn members had reconciled faster than normal.</p><p>It was not normal for them to go out alone without a manager and it was only after a lot of convincing, pleading and a promise to call if anything happened, that they had got the permission to go out alone.</p><p>The baristas that stood behind the desk had sent them a somewhat anxious look. Jungwoo didn't know if it was because they were a large group of friends, because they were kind of noisy, or a mix between both reasons. Or maybe it was because they accidentally had chosen the smallest café on the whole street so all of the reasons mentioned above, became much more prominent and distracting.</p><p>The café was very cute. The decoration was minimalistic and in wood tones but all the plants and greenery made it look like the owner had really put thought to every single object placed inside. Though the café was small, it had a cozy atmosphere that made Jungwoo feel welcomed, despite the skeptical stares from the baristas.</p><p>An aroma more delicious than anything he had ever smelled, wafted through the air and hit his nostrils.<br/>
The smell made his mouth water and he couldn't wait to just sink his teeth into one of their tempting pastries.</p><p>All of them had decided on just buying some refreshments at a place and then walk over to a nice place where they could enjoy whatever they bought. This would give them more privacy and they could be as loud and fool around as much as they desired. The weather was really good that day as it was not too cold and not too hot, so it was the obvious choice to go outside.</p><p>Jungwoo looked at the menu that had been delicately written by hand and he couldn't help the confusion from clouding his mind. </p><p>The letters mingled together to form gibberish words but he could not tell what it said even as he tried to squint his eyes together to see better. Though, his eyesight was clearly not the problem </p><p>He felt like a beached fish that could do nothing but flap in an attempt to get back into its comfortable habitat. He felt helpless and so far away from his comfortable habitat.</p><p>However, he would never, ever, in a million years let the others know. They would without a doubt tease him about it, call him a baby and even though he loved being called a baby, he hated the nickname when it was said in a teasing manner.<br/>
He would rather suffer in silence than be picked on.</p><p>Jungwoo pulled his bucket hat further down his head. Initially, he had worn it to conceal his messy hair but now it served as a cover to cloak his disorientated eyes that shook from distraction. He really couldn't get his eyes to zoom in and get his mind to focus again.</p><p>"Have you decided on anything Jungwoo?" Doyoung had moved closer to him.</p><p>Jungwoo didn't know. His heart began beating in a frantic rhythm and he mentally panicked. He deliberated his options. He could either ask for help, pick something random from the menu and possibly get something he'd rather not eat or make up a lie.</p><p>Gently, Jungwoo asked Doyoung what he was having.</p><p>By asking this, he could just pretend that he couldn't decide on what to pick rather than having to admit that he didn't understand a word on the menu.</p><p>Jungwoo inwardly praised himself for the brilliant plan.</p><p>The only down part in his plan was that Doyoung could probably easily spot his lie.</p><p>Normally Jungwoo would never ask anyone else for suggestions when it came to food. Although Jungwoo was omnivorous, he would always pick himself. It was kind of his habit as he was the one loving food the most out of all of them.</p><p>Jungwoo was relieved when Johnny butted into the conversation before Doyoung could spot his lie, and declared what he was having. Now, Jungwoo could steal the order and avoid having to make something up.</p><p>While Jungwoo was fairly good at hiding his confusion, (at least in his own opinion) Johnny had picked up on it rather quickly and had come to his rescue. Johnny had chosen to do it discreetly as he wasn't about to out Jungwoo on his lie. He had proposedly chosen some of the things he knew Jungwoo would enjoy.</p><p>Jungwoo deemed himself safe for now and was about to tell the leader what he was having, as it was usually Taeyong that ordered.<br/>
Right as Jungwoo was in the hearing range of Taeyong, the ever-confident Haechan proposed an entirely different idea than what Jungwoo had in mind.</p><p>"Hey! Why don't we play a game to decide who should order?!"<br/>
The boy was full of energy and even though he was as 'bad' at English as Jungwoo was, he was much more fearless and at every chance to improve his talking skills, Haechan excitedly jumped to do it.</p><p>It was not that Jungwoo was bad at English by any means. He was actually quickly picking up on the language and he could even chat with the other members using English but as soon as he was going to speak English to a stranger, his whole mind went blanc. He really tried but it was as if every time His thought just disappeared and he couldn't even remember his own name much less hold an entire conversation in the difficult language. </p><p>All the older members had no problem using English and the only two members younger than Jungwoo were both confident in the language.</p><p>Rationally, this should not embarrass him but Jungwoo didn't like to feel inferior to the other members and in particular, to be teased about things he was conscious about. And if there was one thing he was conscious about it was his lack of confident especially since he was an idol. </p><p>"I guess we could play rock, paper scissors"<br/>
Taeyong shrugged. He didn't usually mind going up to order but it was the perfect opportunity to practice their English skills. </p><p>When there were no objections the members huddled together and prepared to either win or lose the game. </p><p>For all the others, this was just a petty competition and they did it for the fun of it but for Jungwoo it was a life or death situation. Well, it wouldn't literally end in any deaths but it quite felt like it as his sweaty hands started to shake and his vision blurred. </p><p>It all happened so quickly and now it was only Jungwoo and Mark fighting to not be the one to order. However, Mark didn't seem to care as much as Jungwoo about going to order. He had a feeling that Mark just played for entertainment purposes. </p><p>Meanwhile, Jungwoo trembled in nervousness while he hoped that he for once in his life would win a game of rock, paper scissors. He was never lucky. </p><p>He had a suspicious hunch that someone had taken all of his luck when he was a child. Maybe it had fallen out when he fell off the swing on his 7th birthday. It really wouldn't surprise him if his luck had already disappeared before that because wasn't it the unluckiness that had thrown him off the swing?</p><p>Mark sent him a lazy smirk and readied his hand. Jungwoo's own quivering hand moved up to hang in front of Mark's while he tried to predict Mark's move. Was he going to choose Rock, paper, or scissors? </p><p>The other members had gradually lost interest in the game after they had won and it was only Doyoung, Johnny and Haechan still observing how the game would unfold. </p><p>Johnny sympathetically patted Jungwoo's back as if to transport some of his own luck onto Jungwoo. Jungwoo sent him a pathetic weak smile in return. </p><p>"Rock. Paper. Scissors. Shoot!"<br/>
Jungwoo's hand flexed out to make a scissor. His eyes that were squeezed closed anxiously, slowly opened while he hoped Marl had picked paper. </p><p>The truth slammed into him like a disappointing wave and engulfed him in discouragement. </p><p>Mark had chosen rock. </p><p>Mark and Haechan jumped around and happily clapped in their hands, running high on the victory adrenalin. Or maybe they just liked to rub the failure in Jungwoo's face. </p><p>Their impatient friends, that had zoned out of boredom, finally reappeared as they had seen the game finally come to a disclosure. </p><p>They crowded around Jungwoo, who's shoulders were hanging low from the defeat. Jungwoo decided that he really was unlucky. </p><p>Johnny watched as Jungwoo sighed in defeat. He knew how much Jungwoo struggled mentally with English, as the younger had confided in him when they were roommates and Jungwoo had been adorably drowsy from sleepiness. </p><p>Johnny hadn't confronted him about it yet, as he was sure that Jungwoo couldn't remember a second of it. </p><p>Johnny looked over at his brave puppy who had boldly straighten up and had squared his shoulders. His bucket had sat crooked on the top of his head and his bangs were even messier now after the intense game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. Johnny hoped that the younger was going to be fine. </p><p>Jungwoo was putting up a brave front while he panicked on the inside and he was sure he wasn't going to be fine. But he wasn't going to back down.</p><p>He tried hard to remember all the orders that were being thrown at him but there were so many people surrounding him, all talking at once. He was really starting to get light-headed from the nervousness and the yelling. </p><p>Johnny, who had been silently standing on the sideline watching, could see the tears swell up in Jungwoo's eyes. </p><p>Maybe Jungwoo wasn't as fine as he let on. </p><p>Sweetly Johnny shuffled into the middle of the crowd to help the confused puppy by making the members say their order one at a time. He tried helping Jungwoo remember the orders but the dazed and confused look in his eyes stayed, glazing his brown eyes. </p><p>Jungwoo was really thankful for Johnny's help and he had now remembered the orders so well that he could repeat them forward and backward. Yet, he still felt insecure. He could feel the others' stares and he wasn't sure if it was a mocking one or one of gentle worry. </p><p>It was as though all the people in the café were staring at him and he was sure they were mocking him.<br/>
Why did he even need help remembering? </p><p>Jungwoo knew it was reasonable that he needed help remembering 10 orders including his own, but he still shrunk under the gaze of his friends. </p><p>Timidly, he began his walk up to the counter. He looked back at the others and Johnny sent him an encouraging smile. </p><p>When he turned back, he stood right at the counter, staring straight into the eyes of the barista that had judged them when they first walked into the café. Jungwoo was sure he wasn't very forgiving. </p><p>"Hello, how may I help you?"<br/>
The barista's smile was undoubtedly fake and since he had probably stood at that exact spot for hours, Jungwoo didn't blame him. Even though the smile the barista sent should be welcoming, it did nothing but make him even more nervous and hesitant to order. </p><p>"I...uh... I-I"<br/>
He fumbled with his hands while his eyes flickered everywhere but to the barista's eyes. </p><p>"Do you want to order?"<br/>
The barista's face hardened. The once polite, although fake, smile turned into a sneer of unhappiness and his eyes narrowed. </p><p>Jungwoo tried opening his mouth to answer but he was no longer anxious. He was petrified. His eyes, blown big from humiliation, filled with tears. He had known this was going to end with him crying. </p><p>"Are you just going to stand there looking stupid?"<br/>
Maybe Jungwoo couldn't speak English that well, but he certainly understood that sentence. </p><p>"Why do you try?" the barista scoffed at him, "you can't even speak English".<br/>
He shook his head and the belittling look reappeared on his face. </p><p>"You seriously look so dumb right now. Do you even understand what I'm saying?"<br/>
His mocking laugh filled the café but stopped abruptly when a tall shadow appeared and wrapped around Jungwoo and the barista.</p><p>"We have a long order. Do you think you can manage that?"<br/>
A deep voice sounded from just behind Jungwoo. Two arms gently wrapped around his middle and the hands stroked his sides as to comfort him. Johnny's looming form wrapped assuringly around him. </p><p>"O-oh...Y-yeah. What w-would you like?"<br/>
The barista studdered up at the tall human towering over him. Johnny was taller than both of them and after he had perfectly put the barista in his place in English, Jungwoo was sure that the barista was scared stiff. </p><p>Johnny impatiently listed up the orders he had helped Jungwoo remember and thereby had memorized. It was clear that Johnny was furious with the barista as the usual patient and gentle voice had grown hard and irritable. </p><p>Jungwoo's body was still shaking as Johnny listed up the orders, and the taller male's hand slid up under his shirt to comfort him by placing his soft hands just over his bellybutton. There, the hands stroked the smooth skin until Jungwoo gradually stopped trembling. </p><p>Johnny's head came down to rest on Jungwoo's shoulder and quickly moved forward to place a sweet kiss on the blushing cheeks of Jungwoo. </p><p>"And next time you want to be rude to a customer please don't do it in front of them-", Johnny looked forward again to give a stern look in the direction of the barista, "especially not if his friends are right behind him" </p><p>"I-I'm so s-sorry sir"<br/>
The barista assiduously tried apologizing but Johnny had already grabbed Jungwoo by the waist and pulled him away. </p><p>Jungwoo's cheeks became the same red color as his hair, and he put both hands up to cool them and hide them at the same time. </p><p>Johnny had seen that as a sign to stop and he steered them over to wait for their order. </p><p>"Are you okay, Jungwoo? "</p><p>"I think so. I'm just a little... Surprised? " </p><p>Honestly, Jungwoo had been surprised but was leaning more towards being scared and humiliated. His heart was still beating violently and he didn't know if it was from the scare that the barista had given him or if it was from Johnny's sweet actions. </p><p>"It's okay to be a little scared"<br/>
Johnny engulfed him in a tight embrace and gently began rubbing his sensitive sides. </p><p>"He was so awful to you, baby" </p><p>Jungwoo returned the embrace and sighed into the comfortable hug. His arms were wrapped tightly around Johnny's middle and he nuzzled his head into Johnny's neck.</p><p>When they had been standing there for a good minute or two, Johnny pulled back to look into Jungwoo's eyes. His once natural look vanished and instead, a serious look overtook his face. </p><p>"Tell me, are you really okay, Jungwoo?"<br/>
Johnny's fingers stroked his cheeks in a slow rhythm and Jungwoo couldn't help but let his eyes flutter shut. </p><p>He realized that the salty tears hadn't really dried and were still balancing in the corner of his eyes. Two wet drops slipped from his eyes and slid down his cheeks to drop on Johnny's fingers, who quickly pulled him closer to embrace him once again. </p><p>"Oh, baby" </p><p>Johnny had studied Jungwoo while he ordered and when he had seen the younger-looking like he was about to cry, Johnny had known that something was wrong. </p><p>He had informed the others of the about-to-turn-disastrous happening that Jungwoo stood in. They had all been equally worried but had trusted Johnny to take care of it. </p><p>When he had seen the tears in Jungwoo's eyes, he had almost panicked but when he heard the malicious words the barista was spitting into Jungwoo's face, his protective side had, thankfully, taken over. </p><p>And the best part of it was that now, he was standing with Jungwoo in his arms. Although the puppy was crying, Johnny would take what he could get. </p><p>When Jungwoo finally stopped the silent crying he pulled away from Johnny, but as they were an arms-length apart, Johnny let out one of his gentle laughs. </p><p>While Jungwoo was really happy about Johnny's soothing and calm voice being back, (especially in the form of his lovely laughter) he was still conscious. Specifically after being publicly humiliated. But as Johnny's eyes crinkled from mirth, Jungwoo, although hesitantly, let a smile blossom on his own face. </p><p>"I'm sorry, baby, but your hat-" he stopped mid-sentence to laugh again, "you look so adorable"</p><p>He reached out to the hat perked on top of the messy red hair and fixed the crooked angle. He placed it right in the middle of the disheveled hair and pulled it so far down, that it covered Jungwoo's eyes. </p><p>He let out a surprised laugh and although he couldn't see Johnny anymore, he was sure that the tall devil was smirking. </p><p>Smooth hands enveloped Jungwoo's own and pulled him closer so they were chest to chest. Brown eyes met each other and the soft hands of Johnny left his hands and instead cupped his rosy cheeks. </p><p>Behind Johnny, Jungwoo could spot the rest of their friends that were looking worried over at them. He knew they had left him and Johnny alone because they knew how easily he could get overwhelmed. He was so thankful for them. </p><p>He sent them a delicate smile. </p><p>Maybe Jungwoo wasn't as unlucky as he essentially thought. Because he got this big group of people that cared so much about him and supported him so strongly. His heart hurt from happiness. </p><p>Yes, he had definitely gotten lucky.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. 𝚃𝚊𝚎𝚢𝚘𝚗𝚐</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jungwoo gets sick</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jungwoo was dizzy and as he stumbled to the toilet, he recognized the nauseating feeling.</p>
<p>On the day before, he had been both moody and easily annoyed. He had tried to control himself to not lash out at his friends, but as the day had come closer and closer to ending, so had his patience.</p>
<p>The usual exhausting practice had been even harder and as a consequence, Jungwoo had pushed himself to the limit and beyond, and while he had been exceedingly annoyed at the members, the one he was most mad at and most disappointed in, was himself.</p>
<p>He had refused to take breaks in between rehearsals, to learn whatever he had missed and therefore the intake of nourishment had been greatly limited.</p>
<p>It really shouldn't be a surprise that he had gotten himself sick as the typical symptoms had shown and yet, here he was, being all startled and shocked because he had caught the flu.</p>
<p>He had awoken, an hour before his alarm clock was supposed to sing its awful song, to a throbbing headache, and when he hastily had sat up in his bed, the whole world had disappeared in blackness and darkness.</p>
<p>Along with the appearance of the black veil covering his sight, a sudden queasiness had filled his stomach and he had made his way to the toilet as fast as his nauseated body could bear.</p>
<p>The ground swayed beneath him as his ungraceful feet took his body to the toilet and now he could feel the acid turning in his stomach.</p>
<p>The last steps separating him from the toilet had been too far and he had almost thrown himself at the toilet, as he felt the acid making its way up his throat. He clutched the sides of the toilet seat as the undigested food that had once been in his stomach burned its way out of his mouth, landing in the toilet bowl.</p>
<p>His stomach contracted in a spasm and he let out a whimper that echoed in the empty bathroom.</p>
<p>As he hadn't eaten a lot the day before, there was no food left in him and he was just dry heaving over the toilet while his stomach cramped. His body was weak, shaking from cold sweat and the awful feeling would not leave his body, even as he closed his eyes.</p>
<p>Jungwoo contemplated what he should do. He was an adult so he should already be accustomed to doing things himself but he had never been very independent in that sense.</p>
<p>They had gotten the day free, which meant that the possibilities of members wanting to stay at home to tend him, would be very unlikely.<br/>
Though they would probably feel a strong responsibility to tend to him even as they had other much more exciting plans for the day. They would not say it to his face but Jungwoo was sure. It was only rarely that they got days like these and they had all been eagerly waiting for the day.</p>
<p>His stomach convulsed again but this time, it was from guilt. He really didn't want to ruin the day for his friends and he was sure that they would feel an obligation to look after him.<br/>
They would insist on one of them being home with him and the last thing he wanted, was to force anyone to be with him. Especially not on this specific day.</p>
<p>A cramp, much stronger than the other ones, washed over him and his restrained whimpers turned into a high pitched cry. The pain became tears that gathered in his eyes and as he tried his best to hold them in, one drop of water escaped the cage of his eyes and trickled down his pale cheeks that were void from any colours and hot from fever.</p>
<p>The pain, as well as his pained sounds, petered and he could finally stand up, though on unstable and shaking legs. He splashed cold water on his face, even as it made his body shiver, and tried his best to go on with his usual morning routine.</p>
<p>Before going out though, he had to do something about his sickly appearance. He was too pale and it was as if the ashen skin made him look malnourished and all too thin. Because of the lack of pigment in his skin, the dark blue circles under his eyes were so visible that they couldn't possibly pass as a sign of lack of sleep.</p>
<p>He pinched his cheeks, to make the blood paint them a rosy colour, and hoped that it could distract the others from the horrendous bags under his eyes. That would have to do.</p>
<p>Like a zombie, he dragged his body into his bedroom again to change from his sweat-drenched pyjamas and into something that was at least presentable enough to greet the world in. He was normally very specific about what he presented himself in but as he could barely stand straight for thirty seconds without feeling like the world spun, he couldn't handle the thought of actually dressing up. He was so tired and all he wanted was to lay his weak body down on his bed to roll up in a warm cocoon of soft blankets and hoodies that were too big. But he had to at least look put together if he didn't want the others to suspect anything.</p>
<p>He pep talked himself as best as he could in his poor condition. His half-hearted encouragement coaxed him as he promised himself that he could sleep when the dorm was empty.</p>
<p>Jungwoo slipped his right arm into a hoodie after he had tossed his damp pyjama shirt unto the pile of laundry that had been randomly developing by his door. His left arm accompanied the right in slipping through a sleeve. He lifted both arms and grabbed the collar of the hoodie so that he could slip head through and be done with the first step of getting dressed but as he moved his head into the body of the hoodie he suddenly couldn't find the opening where his head was supposed to go through. He couldn't see anything but the fleece of the inside and as he struggled to get his head through, the nausea he had felt in the morning came back tenfold.</p>
<p>His head spun and he became so out of breath by the wrestling that he was panting for air. He felt like throwing up again. Luckily, his head broke through the opening right as he was about to throw up from the dizziness and cry from frustration. He let out a sigh of relief and moved to get the loosest skinny jeans he had in his closet while still having tears in his eyes.</p>
<p>He balanced on his right leg while his left leg fought with the tight pants.<br/>
As he had lost a significant amount of his strength along with his healthy state, he had a hard time maintaining his balance. He hastily put his leg through the leg of the pant and went to balance on the other leg so he could get the other leg through.</p>
<p>A sickening vertigo washed over him and this time he didn't regain his footing.<br/>
His fuzzy socks, that were supposed to bring comfort, slid across the slippery wood floor and he landed directly on his delicate butt with a loud thump that was anything but comforting.</p>
<p>His composure crumbled along with his strength to hold back his persistent tears. If he wasn't a 22-year-old grown adult and the house wasn't filled with people he didn't want to notice his sickness, he would've have thrown his head back and wailed with all his might. But with the pressing issue, he turned to let the tears flow silently while he, as quiet as he could, sobbed.</p>
<p>Amidst his sniffling and whimpering a soft tap sounded on his door, followed by a deep voice, raspy from sleep.</p>
<p>"Jungwoo, are you in there?"</p>
<p>Jungwoo could imagine him rubbing his tired eyes cutely like he always did when he came to wake the younger up.</p>
<p>Jungwoo folded his legs and brought them up to hug them closer to his chest. They were only half-clothed as he hadn't been able to pull the jeans all the way up before collapsing. Hastily, he tried to stop the overflow from his eyes by wiping them in his soft bare legs.</p>
<p>"Jungwoo, are you sleeping?"</p>
<p>Taeyong provided another round of soft taps and when Jungwoo didn't answer, Taeyong took the liberty to enter the room, thinking he was still soundly sleeping.</p>
<p>With the first step Taeyong into the room, he could already feel that something was wrong and when he heard panicked sniffles, he knew for sure that something was indeed wrong. The worried male quickly spotted the frightened puppy that was shivering in his curled-up position. With a concerned hand, Taeyong reached out to calm the tearful boy by sweeping away the sweaty bangs from the big, red-rimmed eyes. When the hand made contact with soft skin to attentively caress the face, Taeyong realized with a startle how hot the damp skin was.</p>
<p>It was only then that Taeyong noticed how significantly paler Jungwoo was.</p>
<p>"Oh my! Jungwoo you're burning up!"</p>
<p>Taeyong sprung to action and was quick to squat down in front of the sick boy to make eye contact. Jungwoo hesitantly moved to meet the gaze with his own bug-like eyes, wide and glittering from the initial shock. When he wasn't quick enough to meet the impatiently awaiting older male's stare, Taeyong took it into his own hands. Quite literally.</p>
<p>Taeyong's slender fingers took the pale face into his hands and forced Jungwoo to meet his stare. Jungwoo dreaded to see the reaction from the older male and when the eyes locked, Taeyong looked at him with such disappointment that he couldn't help but let a whimper escape his red-bitten lips. This was what he had tried to avoid from the start. This was the reason he had hidden his sickness and yet he still disappointed one of the people he admired and respected the most.</p>
<p>With the unhappy sound of Jungwoo's whimper, Taeyong collected him into his arms to provide comfort.</p>
<p>"Please don't be disappointed, Hyung. I didn't want to bother you," Jungwoo sadly uttered while looking up at his said Hyung with exaggeratedly big eyes and an even sadder pout. And though the pout was very serious, Taeyong couldn't stop himself from gently smiling down at the innocent boy.</p>
<p>"How about we get you some medicine to make you feel better hmmm?"<br/>
Taeyong stood up and reached down to lift Jungwoo as well.</p>
<p>"Well, you definitely have a fever. Do you feel sick in other ways? Does it hurt anywhere?"</p>
<p>And as if on cue, Jungwoo let out another pained cry. His stomach tried to clamp around the food that was not in his stomach and as a result, it turned into a cramp. This time though the pain seemed ten times worse as he was both standing up and there was an audience.</p>
<p>"Okay, you're in pain. Can you point to where it hurts?"<br/>
Taeyong was talking with a quiet and soft voice as to calm someone down, though, it seemed like the one panicking was himself.</p>
<p>Taeyong was always worrying about everyone and he hated seeing anyone hurt. He was naturally a caring person and he was therefore always nagging all the members about their health. It was like he had a seventh sense that told him whenever someone was feeling down or under the weather. He could practically smell the distress on his friend's skin and when he had first stepped into the room, the sense had kicked in right away. And now, the poor soul who had ignited Taeyong's worrying sense stood before him wearing his pants at the ankles and looking more sick than Taeyong had ever seen him.</p>
<p>Jungwoo pointed at his stomach to indicate where the anguish came from. His shiny eyes, blown big from the sickness, looked pleadingly up at the older boy. Even though the plea in the eyes was unintentional, Taeyong recognized the look as a wish for him to help the sickened younger.</p>
<p>Taeyong sympathetically pulled Jungwoo's pants off from where they were bunched at his ankles.</p>
<p>"Let's get you in a more comfortable outfit."</p>
<p>Jungwoo nodded a yes even as the sentence was more of a demand than anything else but with the conformation, Taeyong proceeded his action of innocently undressing the half-naked younger.</p>
<p>With a gentle pat on the butt, curtesy of Taeyong, Jungwoo scurried to find an outfit once again but this time with strict orders from Taeyong of what it should consist of. </p>
<p>While Jungwoo was browsing for an appropriate outfit that fit the current situation, Taeyong left the room shortly to fetch the medicine.</p>
<p>When Taeyong returned, Jungwoo, clad in an adorable oversized hoodie and a pair of loose pants, was shuffling his feet to stick his feet out of the pant leg as they were too long for his, otherwise, long legs. The action was cuter than anything Taeyong had ever seen Jungwoo do and his normal antics were, in Taeyong's opinion, incredibly lovable.</p>
<p>"What about some food? You can sit while I make breakfast."</p>
<p>Taeyong led Jungwoo out the door and into the kitchen by half supporting and half coaxing him. The walk was fairly short as Jungwoo had the room closest to the kitchen and when they took the first step from the wooden floor and onto the marble floor of the kitchen, they were met with two drowsy and just-awoken members in the form of Yuta and Haechan.</p>
<p>Haechan sneaking up to the upper floor to either steal snacks or play games was a normal occurrence and today was, apparently, no different. Taeyong had snuck in too so it was evident that all the members went to each other's floors to be with one another. It was also common for them to gather on one floor on free days but, sadly, it seemed that the rest of the group was already out and about.</p>
<p>Both Haechan and Yuta peeked up at the sight of the leader dragging a slumped Jungwoo over to the last vacant stool by the kitchen island where Jungwoo sank down beside Yuta, leaned over the table, and pressed his heated forehead onto the cool surface. Over the slouched form, Yuta and Haechan sent Taeyong questioning looks. Their eyes flitted rapidly between the leader and the kitchen counter where Jungwoo was laying.</p>
<p>"Jungwoo is not feeling so well. I volunteered to make breakfast for him," Taeyong said with a stern glare their way and when Yuta was about to poke the unusually silent Jungwoo on the back, Taeyong continued, "and it would be very nice if you two left him alone today."</p>
<p>"But, Hyung," Haechan whined, "Jungwoo promised to go out with me and Yuta. We have everything planned already."<br/>
Taeyong did nothing but turn around from where he was looking inside the fridge to give Haechan a strict frown and an eyebrow raise.</p>
<p>"You never make me breakfast," Haechan muttered bitterly and sat back in the chair with his arms crossed and a pout upon his face, looking very unhappy with being denied his fun.</p>
<p>"Oh, stop being so bitter. I make food for you all the time."<br/>
Taeyong rolled his eyes while starting on the breakfast for Jungwoo.</p>
<p>Yuta affectionately petted the back of Jungwoo's head as it was clear that he was not picking up one word of the discussion. He was too dizzy to concentrate on the usual bickering and the delusion blended one word with the next.</p>
<p>When he finally gained enough willpower to focus on the state of affairs in the kitchen, Taeyong placed a plate with food on the table and Jungwoo looked up to see the kitchen empty except for him and Taeyong.</p>
<p>Picking the spoon up, Taeyong began his quest of feeding the, in his own opinion, helpless Jungwoo by shovelling the breakfast into the awaiting mouth. The light meal was making Jungwoo's stomach uncomfortable and by the time that Taeyong had fed him half the plate, it was enough to make him full. The way his stomach rolled and acted up was making him squirm and bend slightly over in his seat to ease the discomfort. The smell of the food, even though Taeyong's food was delicious as always, made Jungwoo sick.</p>
<p>Taeyong, oblivious to the misery of the younger, continued his loving actions and brought a spoonful of soup up to his own lips first, blowing gently to cool it, then bringing it up to pour it into Jungwoo's distressed lips.</p>
<p>Once the otherwise appetizing aroma flowed into his olfactory sense, the bile immediately rose and with a gag, Jungwoo pushed back from his seating to rush to the bathroom.</p>
<p>Once again he was at the toilet puking his guts out. Tears of frustration kept falling stubbornly down his cheeks and his soft hands were clenched into fists by his stomach as to press everything out all at once. He was not sure he could go another round of vomiting without fainting.</p>
<p>A steady hand suddenly appeared and rubbed his quivering back, going from the top of the spine, down to the tail bone and up again to brush the neck hairs. The matching hand tenderly brushed his sweaty bangs from his eyes and without warning, his senses were filled with only one thing. Taeyong.</p>
<p>The comfort brought him into a drowsy headspace where he didn't register anything and his lolled back into the hands of Taeyong. With his neck barred, his eyes rolled into the back of his head so only the sclera was visible.  Though he was not exactly blacked out, he was still not as responsive as he should be and Taeyong had to all but carry his trembling form into the nearest bedroom which, coincidentally enough, was Jungwoo's.</p>
<p>When he revived, he was delicately lowered onto his bed by Taeyong, who was showing no signs of difficulty, whatsoever. He tucked the youth in and buried him under the warm sheets to stop the shivering while brushing a hand over the burning forehead.</p>
<p>The sudden warmth enveloping Jungwoo intensified his drowsiness until it became downright exhaustion and his drooping eyes fluttered to stay open and on the caring leader. Said leader took the fluttering of the eyes as a cue to leave the room so the sick adolescent could sleep off the fever.</p>
<p>"No! Hyung, please stay, " Jungwoo whimpered as Taeyong took the first step to leave the room. "I'm so cold... Can't you please stay?" Jungwoo reached his shaking hand out to weakly pull Taeyong back onto the bed. "My stomach hurts...," he meekly added as if it would convince Taeyong to stay.</p>
<p>Taeyong's eyes softened and he was not hesitant to fulfil the wish, sliding under the covers, settling beside Jungwoo. The delighted noise the younger let out, brought a smile to Taeyong's lips and he gathered him in his pale arms. Jungwoo let out a satisfied sigh for he was finally getting the warmth he so desperately wanted since he woke up that morning.</p>
<p>Curling up into the leader, Jungwoo became the little spoon as he cuddled closer to steal the delicious warmth from his Hyung and then led Taeyong's hands around his waist to rest on his cramping stomach.</p>
<p>"Rub my tummy?"<br/>
It was a feeble whisper that sounded strained as the abdominal muscles tensed in pain. Jungwoo looked behind him to pout at Taeyong with big eyes and the victim of the puppy eyes could do nothing but obey without a fight.</p>
<p>Taeyong traced the lines of muscles on the stomach that was tightened even in sickness. The tracing of the abs turned into a message as he tried to make Jungwoo relax and, more importantly, fall asleep so he could recover as soon as possible.</p>
<p>The younger let his head relax onto Taeyong's stretched arm and let his whole body relax into the embrace as all the muscles left their tensed form. </p>
<p>While in the delusional form of sleep he didn't really care about whatever Taeyong did as long as he stayed and kept him warm, so when Taeyong lowered his head and muzzled into his hair, he did nothing about it. Not that he would have resisted if he had not been somnolent.</p>
<p>Taeyong's nose went from nuzzling the crown of Jungwoo's head, to sniff behind his ears. The nose nudged the earlobe before tracing down the slope of Jungwoo's neck where he buried his face. He nosed just where the scent was strongest and let out a sigh of content.</p>
<p>"Jungwoo, you smell so good," Taeyong let out from where his face was resting in Jungwoo's neck.</p>
<p>A small sound came from Jungwoo, "I'm sick, Hyung. I smell like sweat."</p>
<p>"No, you smell like milk. Like a baby"</p>
<p>"Whatever you say, Hyung. Just keep me warm."<br/>
It was said with a final that Taeyong couldn't argue with and he wouldn't.</p>
<p>The gentle scent of Jungwoo was as comforting for Taeyong as the warmth of Taeyong was for Jungwoo and they both drifted away from reality in a bundle of warmth and happiness.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hi guys! ^_^</p>
<p>Sorry for only posting the chapter now. It was definitely long overdue (I think??)</p>
<p>The encouraging and sweet comments that you guys send me really makes my day.<br/>Thank you so much! I really appreciate all the comments. </p>
<p>I hope you guys are staying safe and healthy!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. 𝚈𝚞𝚝𝚊</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jungwoo is cute and Yuta is all for it.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Football = soccer</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jungwoo was sweating.</p><p>His pants of breathless tries to get oxygen into his lungs mixed with the sound of his pumping heart and thumping steps as he ran as fast he could. He used his forearm to sweep away his bangs that were sticking to his sweaty forehead and distractingly dipping into his eyes. He blinked away the salty drops of sweat as his eyes solely focused in on the target he was closing in on.</p><p>He was mere centimetres from reaching the ball when it rolled in the opposite direction of where he wanted it to go. Someone had gotten there first.</p><p>He sprinted after his opponent who was already nearing the goal of Jungwoo's team.</p><p>Jungwoo's calves, as well as his thighs, were quivering from the effort and even though Jungwoo ran as fast as he could, it was not fast enough. He had used up all his energy the first couple of hours into the game and even he knew that he wasn't going to last much longer but he also knew that he was not going to ensure his victory by not giving his best effort.</p><p>With his last powers, he tried to shorten the distance between him and his adversary. The gap was far greater than what Jungwoo had calculated and as he hurriedly stumbled over his tired feet, he saw the ball go into the goal.  Yuta threw his hands in the air as a victorious yell escapes his lips and his team members crowded him.</p><p>Jungwoo dropped exhausted to the ground, panting so hard that his chest visibly moved up and down from the ground. He moved his arms above his head to make the air flow into his lungs easier as they desperately needed the oxygen.</p><p>His face was red and splotchy from the heat and he could feel his pulse pump all over his body. The sweat trickled down his temple where he could almost imagine the salty drop jumping up from the ground as a result of his heart pumping so hard that it had the same effect as fifty speakers playing on their loudest level.</p><p>Jungwoo was rather fit and he had quite the stamina, which, of course, was a must in the industry he worked in. He was always energetic both when it came to sport and his social life but he had to admit, three hours of playing football with his members who were the most competitive people he'd ever met, did drain him.</p><p>Even his eyes were pulsating at this point and while he tried to get his breathing under control slowly and steadily, he felt light footsteps come nearing where he was laying.</p><p>With his hands just centimetres from the intruder, he extended his longs fingers to brush against a shoe.</p><p>He couldn't tell just by the shoes who it was even though he could practically tell his members apart asleep.<br/>
The footsteps where light and bouncy which indicated it was a dancer, but as they all technically were dancers, he still couldn't tell from that criteria who the suspect was.</p><p>He had spent day in and day out with his members for many years so he had memorized their footstep pattern and he could almost always tell who walked down the corridor in their dorm. This time though, they were wearing running shoes which manipulated the normal placement of the feet.</p><p>By what Jungwoo could tell by the sound of the footsteps, the person in question put their weight more on their heals than on their toes which created a louder sound. This meant that the person was less gracious and more muscular. This excluded Winwin, Taeyong, Doyoung, Kun, Ten, and Renjun, who all had light and soft footsteps.</p><p>He could also tell that the person was not that tall and not that short, but in between. He could hear the weight from the sound of them walking and therefore, he concluded, it couldn't be someone over 177 cm or under 174 cm. The ones fulfilling these criteria where Mark, Yuta, Hendery, Jeno,  Jaemin, Chenle and Haechan.</p><p>Jungwoo could hear the loud screams of both Chenle and Haechan which ruled them out. He could hear Jaemin complain about cheating and Hendery arguing back that they "most definitely didn't cheat" which eliminated those two.</p><p>With only three left that met the requirements, Jungwoo moved to catch the ankles of the innocent prey that had coincidentally taken rest just behind him.</p><p>With a shriek of surprise, the victim jumped back to escape the claws of the mischievous Jungwoo, who laughed, arched his back from the ground and dropped his head back to see who he had caught. A shaken Yuta stood behind him, holding his heart and panting from both the shock and the running just seconds before.</p><p>Now that he knew it was Yuta he felt stupid for not knowing because it had been so obvious. The shoes had thrown him off but when he thought back, the rhythm of the steps matched perfectly with Yuta's.</p><p>Jungwoo broke out in breathless laughter and soon Yuta joined in, reaching out for Jungwoo to take his hand.</p><p>"Hey! Don't scare me like that, you brat," Yuta said in between chuckles as he pulled Jungwoo to his feet. His arm reached out to catch Jungwoo in a headlock, ruffling the fluffy hair on top of his head.</p><p>"You know, even though your team won this time, I'm still better than you," Jungwoo smugly stated with a playful smirk from under Yuta's strong arms where he was being held.</p><p>"Oh yeah? Are you sure about that? Because if I remember correctly, I beat you pretty badly last time and I could do it anytime again."</p><p>Jungwoo struggled to free himself from Yuta's hold but it was hard when he was at a disadvantage in both strength and in their position. He was held down and the only thing free enough to move was his legs so he bent his right leg and swooped it under Yuta's making stumble and lose his balance.</p><p>The plan was maybe not well thought out because Jungwoo was still in his hold so when Yuta fell he went down with him. The fight transferred to the ground and they tossed around to get the upper hand. With a laugh Jungwoo pinned Yuta to the ground, trapping his legs with his own by sitting on top of them and taking a hold of his arms.</p><p>"Ha ha! What was it that you were saying about beating me?"</p><p>Yuta's face was unimpressed and with a thrust of his hips, he flipped them over so that Jungwoo was pinned to the ground.</p><p>"Hey, you two! We're heading home to shower. Are you going to come with us or stay here tumbling around?"<br/>
Kun was standing above them, looking down with his hands on his hips and an affectionate smile on his lips.</p><p>"I think we might stay to have a one-on-one battle. I'm going to prove to Jungwoo that I'm still better at football than him."</p><p>The others were already leaving the ground they had been playing at and only Kun had stayed to inform them.<br/>
With a shrug of his shoulder, he left too and then it was only Jungwoo and Yuta.</p><p>Yuta's eyes slid from Kun's retreating back to tracing Jungwoo's glowing face. He was glistening with sweat and the red hue of his cheeks were a beautiful contrast to his slight tan skin that was coloured from playing the whole evening. When Yuta's eyes stopped to stare into Jungwoo's, he leaned down to rub their noses together in an Eskimo kiss.</p><p>Jungwoo giggled cutely, wrinkled his nose and twisted his face to get away from the nose-nuzzles with a whine of protest. He freed himself from underneath Yuta and rolled to the side so he could get up. With Yuta laughing beside him, Jungwoo lifted himself up so he was kneeling and sent Yuta a pout matched with a glare.</p><p>The glare, though, was anything but threatening as Jungwoo's face portrayed his childish personality in his shimmering eyes and the plump lips that were sticking out made Jungwoo so much cuter. Yuta just wanted to squish his face while cooing.</p><p>Jungwoo was up before Yuta could act on his wish, so while Yuta spouted a disappointed pout of his own, Jungwoo was running to get the football.</p><p>Skipping his way back, Jungwoo found himself enjoying the peace and quiet of the night. It wasn't that he didn't like spending time with his members, he loved it, but it was just something different to be alone with only one or a few of them. Then the quietness would fill the conversation and he and the others could finally hear their own thoughts after days filled with schedules, hectic lifestyle and the noise of 10+ boys that all acted like teenagers. Most of the times it was lovely and Jungwoo loved his life and his members with all his heart but once in a while, it was nice to have times like this.</p><p>Yuta seemed to relish in the peacefulness as well, probably having the same thoughts as Jungwoo, and he pushed himself up to stand as well.</p><p>"Well, let's start the game"</p><p>Jungwoo put down the ball in the middle of the football field and stared into Yuta's eyes with soft determination burning in his own.  He knew that it was a friendly game, more for the fun of it than anything else and that he shouldn't really take it seriously. They were going to take it slow seeing as they had used up all of their energy earlier when they had played all of them. But the fact that they both took football so serious in general made the will in Jungwoo itch to make him give his all.</p><p>Football was initially what he and Yuta had bonded over when they first got to know each other. They found that they both had the sport in common and it made the conversations flow so much easier in the awkward state of a flourishing friendship.</p><p>With both the language barrier and the lack of knowledge on each other obstructing their friendship, football was something that brought them closer. They played for hours without speaking a word, just the pants of exhales filling the air with sounds.</p><p>When they started to become closer and Yuta had mastered the Korean language it was as if they had been friends for so much longer because they had bonded over something they both loved. They had initiated a bond where they could be comfortable without having to converse and fill the silence and that Jungwoo was grateful for as he was the new kid when they first met. Having someone he could share an interest with, was a gift.</p><p>With a countdown of "3, 2, 1, go!" Yuta immediately stole the ball from where it was placed. Jungwoo quickly followed to take back the ball and their race of who was the quickest, the smartest, the best, had begun.</p><p>They were racing each other and it was a surprise for them both that they could keep going but they were both passionate about winning this one game in particular. Just to prove a point to each other.</p><p>Jungwoo knew that Yuta had an advantage, that he was better but it didn't stop him from playing like he could win. At least he could play for the old time's sake.</p><p>Because Yuta was older and though not by much, he was so much more experienced. He was clever and so good at hiding his thoughts when he played. Jungwoo could not predict his next move.</p><p>Except, Jungwoo saw the small flicker of Yuta's eyes which wasn't visible if Jungwoo didn't know Yuta and his game so well. Non than less it was a rookie mistake that Jungwoo could use to his advantage.</p><p>When Yuta surged to the left, just like Jungwoo had predicted, he dropped to the ground and slid onto his side so he could tackle Yuta and end up with the ball.</p><p>The move was calculated to perfection and it would have been perfect if not Yuta had stumbled over his feet and thereby slowed himself down so Jungwoo slid directly into his legs.</p><p>This time, the shout that left Yuta's lips was not surprised or filled with concealed delight. This time, it was a shout of pain that filled the air as Yuta fell to the ground and landed on his side. The leg was quickly pulled up to his chest as he cradled it to lessen the pain. He let out a grunt as to not let his tears of pain drop.</p><p>Even though Yuta did not start crying even as they welled up in his eyes, Jungwoo started bawling his eyes out.</p><p>"Oh no! Hyung! I'm so sorry," Jungwoo wailed as he dropped beside his injured opponent.</p><p>The panic was clear in his eyes and his lips unintentionally pouted apologetically. His nose and cheeks were red from the violent crying.</p><p>"Are you okay? Should I call someone? Oh no, should I call an ambulance!? I-I probably should...," Jungwoo babbled out in hurry in his frightened state, tears and whimpers escaping his wet lips.</p><p>Despite being in agony Yuta couldn't help but find Jungwoo's worrying cute. He had the biggest, purest eyes when he panicked and when his face had the light pink flush from crying, Yuta partly forgot the ache in his leg.</p><p>Jungwoo's frantic hands searched Yuta's whole body for injuries although it was obvious where the pain was worse. </p><p>"Does it hurt a lot, Hyung?"</p><p>The pain had been all-consuming at first, yes, but after the ten minutes Jungwoo had spent in panic, worrying over his friend, it had withered to a faint throb. Yuta tried reassuring Jungwoo by giving him a smile to show he was okay enough to smile, but at the stretch of his cheeks, a lonely tear slid from his eyes.</p><p>This did anything but assure Jungwoo and he only panicked more.</p><p>"Oh my God, it does, doesn't it?! It's probably broken! What if you can't ever dance again?! And it's all my fail! I'm so stupid!"</p><p>Jungwoo was reduced to a sobbing mess on the ground, slapping his forehead as to punish himself for hurting his friend. Now, it was Yuta's turn to panic and he reached out for the young, crying, mess that was seated right at his side.</p><p>" Baby! Hey, baby, look at me."</p><p>Jungwoo blinked his wet eyelashes up at him but didn't stop the crying and sobbing.</p><p>"Come here, baby," Yuta encouraged, pulling Jungwoo onto his lap, "look at me, okay?"</p><p>But Jungwoo only kneeled over him because of his hurt leg, and the whimpering went on.</p><p>"Puppy, it's okay. I'm not hurt and it's not your fault," he stretched his supposedly broken leg, "see, I'm fine. It's not broken. Sit down."</p><p>Jungwoo obediently sat down in Yuta's lap and waited for further instructions but Yuta only strokes under his eyes to gather all the spilt tears.</p><p>"Don't cry, okay? Please don't cry, baby."</p><p>"I'm sorry I kicked you, Hyung. Are you sure it doesn't hurt?"</p><p>Jungwoo fiddled adorably with his hands while he sat completely still with the rest of his body.</p><p>"Yes, of course. Do you not believe me? I wouldn't let you sit here if I wasn't okay."</p><p>Yuta brought his hands to the younger's hips and bowed his head down to create the eyes contact he wanted. Yuta initiated the second nose nuzzle of the day and rubbed his nose against Jungwoo's soft one.</p><p>Jungwoo's ears started to redden and Yuta let out a delighted laugh. He brought the blushing boy into a hug and pushed the younger's head into the crook of his neck.</p><p>"You're so cute when you cry," Yuta whispered in the blushing ear, "and you're even cuter when you blush."</p><p>Jungwoo relaxed in the lap and breathed out in relief. Yuta wasn't hurt and he wasn't mad.</p><p>"Please stop crying. I hate seeing you sad."</p><p>When Jungwoo had completely calmed down in Yuta's comfortable lap, they both moved to gather their things so they could head home.</p><p>Though football was a lovely sport, it was really tiring and they were both even more exhausted than normal considering the turbulence of emotions they had been through.</p><p>It was normal for Jungwoo to be tired after crying and this time all his strength had really left his body. He and Yuta had to lean on each other all the way home. Stumbling, babbling and giggling.</p><p>At home, everyone was asleep so they made their way to Yuta's room as quiet as they could in their artificially drunk state.</p><p>Jungwoo dropped into the bed on his front and smashed his head in the pillows. He didn't move and small puffs of air audibly left his mouth which indicated his sleeping state.</p><p>Yuta gently laid himself beside the sleeping body and pulled him into his chest face first. Yuta looked down at the closed eyes, red nose and moist lips that were formed into a pout, as usual.</p><p>Yuta couldn't and wouldn't deny Jugwoo's constant state of cuteness. He was so delicate, sensitive and always needy for attention. Just like a puppy.</p><p>In conclusion, Jungwoo was cute and Yuta was all for it.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>For future references, do you prefer their stage names or their real names?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. 𝙺𝚞𝚗</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jungwoo needs to get through his night-time skin care routine. Exhausted or not.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p> I was inspired by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/18702820">this</a> amazing story. It's so good! Honestly, it's one of my favourite fanfictions on this platform, if not of all time!</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The sound of dragging feet interrupted the otherwise quiet hallway of the luxury hotel. The coolness of the corridor caused shivers on the young man's body. The slumped form was practically dragging his whole body behind him and he lost the usual straight and elegant posture, he took so much pride in.</p>
<p>Jungwoo was tired, so extremely <em>exhausted. </em>He was so tired that he couldn't even recognize the feeling of his own body and everything surrounding him was but a blur. He saw everything in a trance much like sleep.</p>
<p>And that was the only thing he desired so strongly as he continued the drag of his body. To sleep.</p>
<p>He had been practising all day for the joined stage of all artist signed under SM Entertainment. The practice had started early in the morning and they had been monitoring performances and perfecting each little detail all throughout the day.</p>
<p>Jungwoo was a very sensitive person and especially when it came to feelings. He was the first to cry at a sad scene in a movie and the first to laugh at any joke, funny or not. Therefore, he liked being coddled by anyone who would give him the attention. He <em>loved </em>it. <br/>But when they had practice, they had practice, and that meant no distractions and definitely no babying. After all, they had to live up to the standard of being an artist in one of the 'big 3' companies.</p>
<p>Jungwoo thrived on the energy of his members, his closest friends, so when he was denied the usual contact, it was hard for him to recharge.</p>
<p>This was especially unpleasant when he was now in two bands. Nct U and Nct 127. He didn't understand how Donghyck and Yukhei could manage three groups and Mark four. There was no possible way and Jungwoo was, in a weird way, happy to 'only' be put in two bands.</p>
<p>That didn't mean he wasn't absolutely worn out. He counted the steps to the door of his hotel room and sighed relieved when he stood in front of it.</p>
<p>Room 192</p>
<p>He had conquered the key to room 192 in a game of choosing rooms and roommates. It had been rather random who they ended up rooming with, and there wasn't really any advantages of getting a specific room- they were all the same- but it was easier to distribute the rooms by chance, rather then someone getting hurt for not being chosen. Some had to sleep three together in one room but the more the merrier and nobody had problems with anyone so it was indeed all good.</p>
<p>Secretly, Jungwoo had to admit that he was pretty darn happy with his roommate. Qian Kun was no regular roommate. He was, in every way, the most perfect person to room with and he surely was the first choice of many in the group, probably the most popular too.</p>
<p>He was like a parent, taking care even without being asked to but not overly so, never nagging. Cleaned the room, made sure it wasn't messy or smelled like room service food. Helped with everything needed and made sure he knew the schedule inside out so whoever roomed with him was never late. He also knew when to leave people alone and when to step in. Was quiet and talkative when needed to. All things considered, he was a match with every single member in nct because he knew how to adapt to their different personality.</p>
<p>Kun knew of Jungwoo's constant need to be babied and he would probably grant his wishes when he finally showed himself in the hotel room. If he even came back.</p>
<p>Because the only flaw Kun had in his otherwise perfect personality, was his dedication to everything, and even that Jungwoo couldn't hold against him. There was a reason Kun had been so successful.</p>
<p>Kun was practically the definition of a perfectionist and, thus, Jungwoo hadn't been surprised when Kun had informed him that he was going to stay with the choreographer to perfect the steps that he was convinced he hadn't performed well.</p>
<p>Jungwoo wouldn't be surprised either if he stayed for a vocal lesson, now that he was there anyway. That man had too many ambitions if you asked Jungwoo.</p>
<p>With his expectations low and his mood even lower, Jungwoo entered the cold room he had the key to.</p>
<p>His face was heavy with makeup and sweat and while practice usually wasn't were they dressed up, this practice was a little different. At this practice, there was an extra figure filling the room with body heat, his body relaxed and comfortable instead of sweaty and exhausted.</p>
<p>The camera man's presence resulted in no-makeup makeup, done so delicately that it looked like they weren't wearing any even though the reality was faces covered in anything to hide imperfections.</p>
<p>All the way to his room, Jungwoo had dreaded the moment he had to wash away the sweat and makeup, and he couldn't even make himself think of doing his skin care after. The whole thing was, in Jungwoo's state, unmanageable and even more so when there was no one to encourage him.</p>
<p>Stepping up to the bed, Jungwoo let his body slam down onto the mattress. The sheets were soft and fluffy, smelling newly cleaned in a gentle way that was not overpowering- Jungwoo was very sensitive after all- and he decided then and there, he was in no way going to take a bath, remove his makeup, or do his skin care routine. So, he let himself relax, his whole body sinking down in the mattress, and succumbing to the slumber he had looked forward to the whole day.</p>
<p>Everything reduced to a nothingness in the back of his mind but still, he couldn't fully drift off into unconsciousness.</p>
<p>It was a problem he had since his early years when his parents came home late at night after work. He would wait until they arrived so they could put him to bed. Whenever he knew someone was supposed to come home he would unconsciously stay awake until then. Drifting in and out of sleep and never into the desirable deep sleep.</p>
<p>Kun was supposed to come home later and now he was again on the brink of sleep but not quite there yet and he just knew that he wouldn't get any sleep unless Kun was there, sleeping beside him.</p>
<p>While he was drifting between consciousness and unconsciousness, the sound of a door opening made its way to Jungwoo's attentive ears. It was opened very lightly as if the person was trying not to disturb anyone, the feet stepped so softly that it sounded like they almost didn't touch the ground and the only noise that Jungwoo heard clearly was the undressing.</p>
<p>Not long after, a smooth hand tenderly brushed his hair away from his face, squished by the numerous pillows on the bed.</p>
<p>A soundless sigh left Kun's lips and the only reason Jungwoo could identify it, was because of the air that gently blew his bangs at the exhalation. It sounded suspiciously like disappointment.</p>
<p>"Just like a child." Another sigh. "You should at least have taken off your clothes."</p>
<p>With another stroke to his hair, Kun left his side and disappeared onto, what sounded like, the other side of the room.</p>
<p>Jungwoo let out his own breathless sigh and sunk deeper into sleep. Now that Kun was home he could relax and let his worries go. Though, before he could fully unwind, Kun came back and sat right in middles of where Jungwoo was curled forward, Kun's hip digging into Jungwoo's belly.</p>
<p>Kun's body sunk into the mattress and Jungwoo could feel the weight shift his body towards Kun who leaned down and peppered kisses over his closed eyes.</p>
<p>"Hmmm?"</p>
<p>Jungwoo blinked confusedly up at his roommate. It wasn't that he hadn't realized Kun's presence but his half-asleep mind had forgotten again as his brain sometimes did. It was like when his alarm rung early in the morning and he fell asleep after snoozing it. When he woke up ten minutes later, he had forgotten that he had fallen asleep.</p>
<p>"Are you awake? Jungwoo, you need to change. And you should also take a bath, you've been sweating all day"</p>
<p>Disoriented and fuzzy, Jungwoo lazily reached out to Kun, cutely making grappy hands at the bleary, standing figure.</p>
<p>"Mmmm wanna sleep. Come to bed, sleep with me," Jungwoo pleaded drowsily, blinking the sleep out of his eyes so he could plead with his unbeatable puppy eyes. He let his hands drop from their reached out state and padded the empty space beside him on the large bed.</p>
<p>"No."</p>
<p>Kun was nothing if not stubborn and headstrong, Jungwoo knew this, and so the real question was really why Jungwoo had even tried to convince him. When Kun actually wanted something, which rarely occurred, he got it. Again, there was a reason Kun had been so successful.</p>
<p>Jungwoo, though, was dangerously sleepy from straining himself all day, and extremely moody because Kun had left him alone, and it was common knowledge that when Jungwoo was in this moody and sleepy mood it was hard to reach him.</p>
<p>Unless, of course, someone used the designated nickname Jungwoo had received and absolutely loved.</p>
<p>"Baby, please listen to what I tell you. You will feel so much better tomorrow," Kun reasoned, trying to convince the stubborn younger to listen to him, though to no avail. It had, however, attracted Jungwoo's attention and he looked curiously, although sleepily, at Kun, clearly bargaining for a better arrangement.</p>
<p>"Look," Kun sighed, "I'll help you, yeah? Is that a deal?"</p>
<p>After a few seconds of thinking it through, weighing the advantages and disadvantages, Jungwoo nodded his head slowly. The reluctance was still apparent but, even so, Jungwoo rose from his pleasant position on the pleasant bed.</p>
<p>"What a good job, baby. Good boy," Kun praised, smiling brightly albeit tiredly. Trailing behind the sleepy younger, Kun placed one supporting hand to push the obvious unwilling Jungwoo.</p>
<p>Lazily, Jungwoo proved his complaint the whole way to the bathroom, refusing to speed up his steps and dragging his feet obnoxiously over the floor. Even though he had agreed to the deal, he was still going to demonstrate how objecting to the idea he was.</p>
<p>Arriving right in front of the shower, Jungwoo turned around to show Kun his unhappy face, which, to no one's surprise, consisted of a big pout, glistening eyes, and furrowed eyebrows. A plead to go back to bed was on the tip of his tongue but he knew Kun was right, as he always was. He would feel so much better the day after if he did as Kun asked, and he would most definitely thank Kun for the necessary force.</p>
<p>Kun reached out for a fluffy towel, placing it besides the sink, and then he turned to face Jungwoo.</p>
<p>"You're going to take a shower now, okay? And I'll sit right out here. "</p>
<p>Kun sat exhaustedly on top of the toilet and accepted each piece of clothing Jungwoo handed him until his body was holding two sets of outfits, and Jungwoo's body none.</p>
<p>The steam quickly rose and thickened the air in the room. It steamed the mirror and Kun could feel himself get damp too. His hair drooped from the humid climate in the bathroom and the water that hung from his hair tips started dripping down onto his cheeks.</p>
<p>When Kun's whole body was damp from the humidity, Jungwoo finally stepped out from the warm spray and almost immediately demanded that Kun wrapped him in the fluffy hotel towel.</p>
<p>"See, that was nice, wasn't it?"</p>
<p>Jungwoo only answered in a weak confirming noise, not even opening his mouth to answer properly, and moved to lean into his doting Hyung.</p>
<p>"Hey! Stop that before- stop it! You're going to soak my shirt!"</p>
<p>Jungwoo paid the complaint no mind and continued to nuzzle his whole head of wet hair into Kun's neck simultaneously drenching the sleeping shirt Kun had just changed into minutes before. He had to be punished in some way or another.</p>
<p>The groan of annoyance only stirred on Jungwoo further, and he let a mischievous smile take over his sulking features. Kun couldn't see it but he could clearly feel it against his shoulder under the shirt, clingy from the liquid.</p>
<p>Kun reached his hand up to Jungwoo's hiding face and lifted it just so he could see the smile he knew to be beautiful. At the eye contact, Jungwoo shook his head and all the little droplets dangling from his hair strands sprinkled everywhere. He looked every bit like the puppy he was liberally compared to.</p>
<p>The water reached so far behind Kun that it splattered on the mirror that was already wet with dew.</p>
<p>"Okay, okay! I get it, you can stop that now."</p>
<p>The now drenched Kun pushed Jungwoo up against the sink, and although it was done gently, Jungwoo still stumbled over his tired feet, weak from overburden.</p>
<p>"Should I sit?" was the first intelligent sentence Jungwoo had let out that day, and he wobbly lifted himself up so he could sit at the sink with his back to the messy mirror.</p>
<p>"Yes. Good boy. I'll remove the remaining makeup and then we can do your skin care. Is that okay?"</p>
<p>When Jungwoo only nodded his response, Kun fondly tutted at him.</p>
<p>"Use your words, baby, or I can't understand."</p>
<p>Jungwoo looked down at his almost bare thighs, flicked at his hair with his fingers to get it away from his eyes and looked up at Kun from underneath his lashes.</p>
<p>"Yes please."</p>
<p>Kun got to work right away.</p>
<p>Unpacking all the skincare products from the travel-sized bag, Kun placed them neatly on the counter beside Jungwoo and made sure Jungwoo pointed out which ones he wanted to use because he had not only one product of each category. It was very important for Jungwoo to maintain his skin. Unless, of course, he was dead tired and just wanted to sleep.</p>
<p>Reaching out for the first product, a makeup remover, Kun dripped the liquid onto a cotton pad and wiped Jungwoo's skin as lightly as he could, not pressing down to hurt the sensitive skin.</p>
<p>Jungwoo looked up at Kun with attentive eyes but then relaxed his neck to let his eyes drop closed.</p>
<p>Kun opened the jar to the younger's oil cleaner and use the little spatula to scoop out a desirable amount of the product. He rubbed the oil between his warm hands and moved to rub gently over Jungwoo's face to finally rid his tired face from the discomfort.</p>
<p>There was not much cosmetic left on the pale skin, and it quickly melted into the cleanser so Kun could wash the oil away along with the little amount of makeup.</p>
<p>Jungwoo watched as Kun, even more tired than himself, dragged through the entire routine just for Jungwoo's sake. It made the sensitive man, perched on top of the sink, well up with emotion now that he was even <em>more </em>sensitive because of the fatigue that came from the exhaust.</p>
<p>His pout returned and he tried his hardest to stop himself from whimpering.</p>
<p>When a choked whimper left Jungwoo's mouth after a failed attempt to suppress it, Kun looked up at Jungwoo's glossy eyes filled with emotions that made everything mushy.</p>
<p>"Thank you, Kun," Jungwoo sniffed, his voice cracking from sentiment. "You really didn't have to. I know you're more tired than I am."</p>
<p>Kun reached out for the water-based cleanser and pumped it into his hands. Lathering the fluffy substance onto Jungwoo's skin, Kun massaged the wet skin and looked into the sleepy beautiful eyes again and whispered softly.</p>
<p>"Of course, baby, anything for you."</p>
<p>He leaned further into Jungwoo, closer, and kissed the delicate nose that scrunched under his touch. He kissed upwards, towards the heavy drooping eyes and kissed them, as well, with soft lips.</p>
<p>Jungwoo erupted in pleasant giggles and cried out, "it tickles, Kun-Hyung!"</p>
<p>Kun's infamous, fond parent-smile appeared and Jungwoo looked breathlessly up at him. His eyes crossed when Kun raised a cotton pad soaked in toner and swiped it over his nose, eyes following the cotton pad.</p>
<p>Jungwoo started to swing his legs on either side of Kun, as the older padded essence onto Jungwoo's cheeks and around his entire face.</p>
<p>"Huyngie, will you hum a tune for me?"</p>
<p>At Kun's hesitation, Jungwoo lifted his legs to tighten around the older's waist, pulling him closer so he could not resist.</p>
<p>"Just hum, you don't have to sing. Please, Huyngie? For me, for your baby?"</p>
<p>Of course, Kun couldn't say no to that when he already had a hard time generally saying no to people. And who was he to deny those shining, pleading puppy eyes?</p>
<p>"Then you have to promise that you'll listen to me, okay? You have to sleep right after this."</p>
<p>"Yes sir!"</p>
<p>Kun slapped Jungwoo's mocking salute away and reached for the eye cream and moisturizer. He hesitantly started to hum a calm ballad that would hopefully make Jungwoo tired again so they could go sleep right after.</p>
<p>Jungwoo always loved Kun's voice but especially when he sang under his breath. It made his voice so much softer and it was like an angel's voice bringing idyll to Jungwoo's life.</p>
<p>While still singing, Kun spread the eye cream out under Jungwoo's eyes with his thin index finger as to not spread anywhere else. One at a time, Jungwoo's eyes closed when a finger pressed under them and the cooling feeling of the cream relaxed his entire body.</p>
<p>When the moisturizer had been applied as well, Kun ordered, rather strictly, that Jungwoo had to change into pyjamas.</p>
<p>Jungwoo hurried to carry out the command, practically tumbling across the room to slip into his sleeping clothes in record time, faster than ever before. He wanted to please Kun.</p>
<p>The exhaust had turned into overtiredness, and he was springing around the room like a toddler on a sugar rush. He knew when Kun came out he was going to force him to sleep and that was not what he wanted anymore.</p>
<p>As anticipated, Kun had the disappointed parent look in his eyes when he stepped out of the bathroom after having done his own skin care routine.</p>
<p>"Jungwoo, you promised to listen."</p>
<p>"I did! And I am! I'm wearing pyjamas, aren't I?" <br/>The sassy reply was not appreciated and Kun's look hardened into a slightly mad parent look.</p>
<p>"If you are not on the bed, under the sheets in under 10 seconds, I can and I will confiscate any form of sugar."</p>
<p>The calmness of Kun's voice was all the indication Jungwoo needed to know that he wasn't kidding, and with the speed of lightning, he was on the bed, under the sheets.</p>
<p>"That was good, Jungwoo. Can you feel how tired you are, baby? Look at these eye bags, you have to sleep."</p>
<p>Just as Jungwoo understood the words, he felt the tiredness again and went limp immediately.</p>
<p>With his eyes still closed, Jungwoo muttered, "sleep here too, Hyung."</p>
<p>Kun didn't answer but his body lying beside Jungwoo on the bed was answer enough.</p>
<p>"Good night, Hyungie. Sleep tight."</p>
<p>Kun reached out his fingers and curled them under Jungwoo's shirt while his other hands petted and brushed Jungwoo's hair.</p>
<p>"Good night, baby."</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Do I use the word baby too much and it awkward when I use it? Should I then tone it down or use other nicknames?<br/>Do you have any recommendations/wishes for other endearments to use instead?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. 𝙳𝚘𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚐</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jungwoo needs a hand to hold.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHB422MrKsQ">Here's</a> a video about Jungwoo and Dongyoung holding hands.</p><p>That's it, that's the story...</p><p>Also, if you're perhaps a new fan, Doyoung's real name is Dongyoung and that's the name I'll be using in this story. Just so there are no uncertainties or any confusion in that regard.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As an introvert, Jungwoo had always been shy. Even when a kid, his timid nature had been greatly complimented by his parent's friends because instead of being outside, violently destroying everything in his way, he had stayed at home studying or indulging his parents and their friends.</p><p>He was their only son, and they loved him dearly. Just as much as they loved his older sister, who had been nothing but soft and polite, raising and teaching Jungwoo to be the same.</p><p>Which may have been why he'd been so sickenly polite his whole life. His sister had always been his role model so he had done everything she did.</p><p>Jungwoo had grown and even when his childhood was mostly filled with his sister and parents, he'd come to love people and the social aspects that came with. Making new friends was a sport for him and the only problem, really, was his drained energy after a long day filled with exciting people. But it never took the thrill from it.</p><p>Then came his life as a trainee followed by an idol life where privacy was not heard of and meeting new people wasn't exciting anymore.</p><p>The hours spent with a large number of people became frightening and it filled him with anxiousness opposed to when it had filled him with happiness.</p><p>He could joke, yes, laugh loudly enough to make every person who heard the delightful giggle smile, but as soon as he was home, surrounded by the people he trusted the most, he would be done, his timid personality taking over. Because that was who he really was, soft-spoken and polite, even when it drained him from energy so much that he could barely manage to eat with the other members.</p><p>He couldn't help his perfectionistic tendencies. The ones that made sure he was overthinking every single word he uttered, every single sentence, because he didn't want to offend anyone, and that was an extremely strenuous habit of his. </p><p>It didn't change the fact, however, that Jungwoo was an introvert, and in big crowds, he was always on edge, body tight with unease or, ultimately, anxiety.</p><p>His friends, always considering and helpful, assured him that this was an endearing personality trait and that it made him to who he was. They could read him easily enough to know when he needed to be alone and when to comfort him, lending him a shoulder or an embrace to fall into.</p><p>It was not like he was the only introvert in their group. There were actually more members who were much less fond of being social than he was, but they didn't have the same anxiety resting between their lungs.</p><p>The members knowing just made it so much worse when they were out in public because then they doted, made him feel weak. Jungwoo knew that they only wanted to make him happy and comfortable and usually, it was greatly appreciated, he loved it, but then sometimes it became too much and he felt useless.</p><p>He had stated as much and his best friends had been understanding as expected, and they had promised to let him come to them himself if he needed the comfort.</p><p>Now, he regretted saying anything.</p><p>A few days after his confession, two to be precise, they were going out to promote their new song, which meant a public appearance. And while Jungwoo loved his fans, he became extremely anxious when a hoard of them surrounded him and the rest of the band.</p><p>Hundreds, maybe thousands, of NCT supporters swarmed around them right when the first member of the band, Taeyong, stepped out of his car. Soon the excited talk escalated into screams and cries when tle leader was followed by a snickering Donghyuck, a pouting Yoonoh, and Yuta who was dragging a sleepy Dongyoung behind him. They were quickly disappearing in the mass of delighted people.</p><p>Jungwoo was in the car behind them, and he sat nervously and fidgeted while dreading going out in the claustrophobic chaos outside.</p><p>Mark sent him a sympathetic smile that wasn't exactly encouraging but Jungwoo appreciated the effort. Mark had the same problem with being a little awkward around people but Mark had, on the other hand, gotten used to a big crowd of fans.</p><p>When Jungwoo's car parked right behind the other car, he let out a sigh, as to exhale all the anxiety and stiffness, and slumped back into the seat and closed his eyes.</p><p>Taeil patted his shoulder to indicate that it was time to go before he stepped out of the car and Johnny fleetingly caressed his cheek when he too moved to get out of the car. It looked like Mark was hesitating whether he should go out first or let Jungwoo go out first.</p><p>Forcing himself to loosen his expression, Jungwoo tried not to look like he was going out to his worst nightmare, and stood up to push Mark out before him.</p><p>He ducked his head and jumped out, expecting to see his other members waiting for him but only saw their backs as they walked away in a hurry.</p><p>They were late and the managers had instructed them to gather as fast as possible in front of the cameras when they arrived. The traffic had been thick and hectic, and a stressed manager had not done anything to calm them down. Even less when the manager frantically had called the manager in the other car to discuss how late they were gonna be and how to tackle the situation.</p><p>Jungwoo had been so nervous, so stressed, that the big crowd outside had scared him so badly that he had almost fainted, and then they had arrived and all his members were rushing away from him at the orders of the manager.</p><p>There was no one to soothe him</p><p>Putting on his big-boy smile that made him look relaxed and not like he was about to pass out, Jungwoo pretended to be courageous and tried to follow the back of Mark's head that was at least 50 meters away. It proved to be easier said than done because with cameras shuttering with sharp lights that went straight into his eyes and further inside his head to hurt his brain, it was hard to see clearly in front of him and dizzying nausea slammed into him.</p><p>Oh, how he wanted a hand to anchor him.</p><p>He stumbled after what he suspected was Mark but with all the people sporting the same black hair colour as Mark crowding together around them, it was hard to differentiate his members with the fans. Even more so when Mark was not above average height and easily got swallowed by the heap of people.</p><p>The anxiety took his rationality and crushed it between its cruel claws, and Jungwoo was already halfway on his way into the crowd of wild and overexcited fans because he thought he had seen Mark in there. He hadn't even realized the direction he was heading and how it quickly could escalate to something dangerous. It was only when the scream got loud and rang loudly in his ears that he snapped out of his stupor.</p><p>A female fan who stood the closest to him, reached out and grasped the corner of his jacket and <em>pulled. </em>Though she looked small and frail, admittedly harmless, she packed a lot of strength and Jungwoo stumbled forward and further into the crowd of gathered fans.</p><p>There were hands all over him, trying to pull him into a selfie, and people had no care for how late he was and that he was so far behind the others. Not that Jungwoo had expected anything less, they were fans and he was their idol, it was no surprise that they did everything to touch him. Humans had always been selfish.</p><p>A cold hand pulled at his trembling one, and another rough palm slipped underneath his shirt to caress his never before exposed belly.</p><p>A shudder of absolute disgust quaked his body and his gag reflex was immediately triggered. He hated being touched so intimately by strangers.</p><p>People stepped on his toes, trying to reach high enough to place kisses on his cheeks. They tried to reach out for his newly attained diamond earrings, probably to keep as souvenirs.</p><p>The pulling and pushing continued while Jungwoo noticeably got paler and paler, and he wished so desperately for someone to pull him out of the nightmare.</p><p>The rest of the group had quickly realized the chaos going on and when they realized what had happened, a murmur of panic passed between them.</p><p>Suddenly everyone was wide awake but the majority of them quickly stilled with shock, not moving from where they stared helplessly at the commotion. They needed to get Jungwoo out immediately before something really dangerous happened but none of them could move their limbs, only their beating hearts moving.</p><p>Taeyong and Dongyoung shared a glance and with their telepathic supernatural powers quickly agreed on how to get Jungwoo out. They both quickly switched from their flower-boy appearance and into an intimidating dark aura with eyes glaring hard at anyone who dared to meet them.</p><p>People parted for them as a stream of fish being hunted by two hungry sharks, which wasn't far from the truth. Dongyoung was furious.</p><p>There Jungwoo stood defenceless, alone and shaking, and people didn't care one bit, only trying to use him for their own selfish reasons. No one was allowed to use innocent Jungwoo like that, not if Dongyoung could do anything about it, that is.</p><p>Dongyoung took harsh strides forward into the crowd, marching with a straight back and head held high. His boots clicked harshly on the concrete as he tramped by the once enthusiastic fans, who had quickly died down and didn't attempt to reach out for Dongyoung, his stare so harsh and deadly that it was the fans turn to shake defencelessly.</p><p>Whilst Dongyoung was making his way to him, Jungwoo still hadn't registered that the noise had quietened considerably and he was still falling further and further into his own terrifying thoughts and simultaneously trying not to faint from the extreme fright he was experiencing.</p><p>He was sinking deeper into himself, shoulders raised so high that they touched his ears and his eyes were squeezed shut so tightly that fireworks sparkled behind the lids in a way that hurt his brain and made him light-headed.</p><p>Just as another cold hand reached out for him, grabbing his left hand and tried dragging his body closer, a warm hand enveloped his other hand, the right one, and yanked him in the other direction, opposite of where the fan was pulling him.</p><p>He stumbled to the right and landed against a sturdy chest, long muscular arms enveloping his body so that he was entirely pressed against the warm body of whoever had tugged him near.</p><p>The familiar presence relaxed Jungwoo's tense shoulders and he went completely lax, leaning further into the strong hold. He could tell who it was just from the hand that had pulled him and the smell emitting from the warm body. Even the body itself was familiar and he didn't need a confirmation. It was absolutely certain that it was his Dongyoung.</p><p>Jungwoo looked up dazedly at his rescuer and realized that Dongyoung was looking back softly, making sure that he wasn't physically hurt, eyes darting up and down in a hurried examination.</p><p>Jungwoo pulled his lips up into a shaky smile to show he was okay and when Dongyoung was positive of that, he turned his stare onto the crowd, shaming them for their actions. His face slipped into a harsh, emotionless mask, gaze turning steely cold and even Jungwoo shivered, grateful that he was not at the receiving end of the furious look.</p><p>Just then bodyguards surrounded the two idols, pushing them closer to each other and shielding them from the fans. While in their little bubble of privacy, Dongyoung caressed Jungwoo's cheekbones right at the apple of the cheeks where colour was starting to reappear after he had gotten over the shock of the situation.</p><p>"Precious baby," Dongyoung muttered all the while staring fondly at Jungwoo, and even though Jungwoo was a good few centimetres taller than his hyung, he still felt protected in the shelter of warmth between Dongyoung's arms and broad shoulders.</p><p>The burly men standing around them regained control over the situation while Doyoung pulled Jungwoo closer and threw an arm around his shoulder to lead him away from the disaster and over to where a manager was anxiously waiting for them. The rest of the members had quickly been escorted to where they were supposed to take their pictures, no time for situations like the one that had just happened.</p><p>The stressed manager pointedly glanced at his wrist where a watch rested to indicate how far behind the schedule they were, and Jungwoo could feel Dongyoung's arm tighten around him as he quickened his steps.<br/>
Now their bodies were as close as they could be while they power-walked.</p><p>The hand caressing Jungwoo's shoulder slithered down his arm, gently pinched the skin of his elbow, and ended at his cold, trembling hand.</p><p>Even after getting away from the decidedly crazy fans, he was still on edge. The way he had felt like a cornered prey still played in his mind, and he was still mentally in the same position. He contracted in a full-bodied shiver, clenching Dongyoung's hand hard.</p><p>Dongyoung didn't even flinch as his hand was crushed, instead, he slipped his long, thin, and knobby fingers between Jungwoo's slender ones. With their hands intertwining Doyoung moved his thumb up and down the side of Jungwoo's hand, soothingly stroking the sensitive skin to calm him down and get him out of his head, out of his thoughts.</p><p>Jungwoo's oversized, long-sleeved shirt reached down over their linked hands and the soft material that brushed nicely over the soft skin of their hands, helped Dongyoung soothe Jungwoo.</p><p>Dongyoung lifted their joined hands up and kissed the backside of Jungwoo's smooth hand as he continuously moved in a haste to reach the others in time for photos.</p><p>Even though Jungwoo may be slightly taller than Dongyoung, their legs were approximately the same length and as Dongyoung took bigger and quicker steps it became harder for Jungwoo to keep up.</p><p>Dongyoung was swiftly making his way in front of Jungwoo, and their arms that were resting, relaxed between them as they held hands, became outstretched as Jungwoo tried to follow Dongyoung without breaking contact between their hands.</p><p>He stumbled behind the older, legs moving fast and his strides almost became a run as he tried to keep up with Dongyoung.</p><p>At last, he loosened the grip on Dongyoung's hand, letting go of it, much to his dismay, and instead choose to follow the elder's lead as best as he could. He looked like a little duckling trying to keep up with its mother duck.</p><p>As he stumbled behind Dongyoung, he became deeply surprised that his hyung could move so fast while still moving so leisurely. </p><p>"Hyungie, will you hold my hand again, please?"</p><p>Jungwoo's pout was apparent and Dongyoung only smiled lovingly, stretched out his arm and took Jungwoo's hand again.</p><p>"I can't keep up with you, Hyung. Walk a little slower, please," Jungwoo demanded and started up a quick pace again, though not as speedy as before. This time Dongyoung stayed at Jungwoo's side while still directing the way they were going.</p><p>Their friends had already made a line and were smiling prettily at the flashing cameras and screaming fans. Their posture was straight and proper, and the most blinding smiles were thrown at the lenses pointed at them.</p><p>The fans could not see the difference between this picture-perfect facade and their normal sleeves but Jungwoo knew that they were more rigid than normal. Their smiles only for the camera and not because they were happy, and if the cameras had not been there and had they not been behind their schedule, they would probably all be sporting a frown as they fawned over Jungwoo, making sure he was okay.</p><p>Jungwoo dropped Dongyoung's hand as he guided them behind the others to stand farthest to the left.</p><p>Dongyoung stepped into the line and slipped on his most polite smile, void of any emotion and any of his usual happy characteristics. It was clear to anyone who knew any of them that they were either pissed, extremely mad or, at the very least, unhappy.</p><p>Jungwoo moved to get into the line too, walking to stand at Dongyoung's left and thereby standing as the end of the line, no one on his left side. The fans on his left shuffled closer and closer to get better pictures, to get a better look at them.</p><p>He moved to grab onto Dongyoung's hand again, again, again, but as he reached for it he could see how his hyung's smile froze and slowly disappeared.</p><p>He tugged hard on Jungwoo's hand and the younger was forcefully moved to the other side of him. Here Dongyoung could shelter his left side, and Taeil and the others protected his right side.</p><p>A smile bloomed on Dongyoung's face once again and his face settled into a grin much more genuine than before. More genuine and, dare he say, satisfied? Jungwoo could almost see the way Dongyoung was puffing out his chest in pride.</p><p>"Hyungie won't hold my hand anymore?"</p><p>Jungwoo brought the proud peacock out of his thoughts. He tilted his head in question, in mock confusion and his prideful hyung landed on earth again with a slam.</p><p>"Of course I want to!" Dongyoung quickly assured and Taeil let out an ugly snort in amusement and mockery. He whispered something under his breath that neither Jungwoo nor Dongyoung could hear and definitely not something either of them cared to figure out what meant.</p><p>Dongyoung reached behind Jungwoo and patted his back. The younger was wearing a fuzzy oversized jacket and the material it was made of was gloriously soft and Dongyoung took great pleasure in stroking it.</p><p>His hand fell further down to sneak under the jacket, under another layer, a long-sleeved t-shirt and stroked the soft skin stretched over taut back-muscles. Lastly, his hand stopped at Jungwoo's ticklish waist and let it rest there as he leaned in so Jungwoo could hear when he whispered quietly for him to smile.</p><p>"Smile, baby. I know you don't want to and you really shouldn't have to but do it this one time, okay? Let them see your beautiful self that you always show us."</p><p>Jungwoo smiled as brightly as he could, so much his eyes closed and he couldn't see the cameras, only the flashes. He moved his hand up to take Dongyoung's away from his waist. Both because it was ticklish, because it was slightly annoying and because he would much rather hold hands.</p><p>Dongyoung side-glanced at him, making sure he was okay and not frightened again. After having glanced around for threats and not finding any as the guards had, finally, full control of everything, he hooked his pinky with Jungwoo's.</p><p>It felt nice, almost as good as fully holding hands (not quite as good but <em>almos</em>t). Their hands wouldn't get clammy and sweaty so they would have to switch sides but most importantly it grounded Jungwoo, the same way, holding hands with Dongyoung would.</p><p>For Jungwoo, the interlocking of their pinkies almost felt like a pinky promise. A pinky promise that vowed that they would stay together forever.</p><p>A pinky promise where Dongyoung promised to protect him forever and always.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Can you tell I'm an older sister myself? ahahah</p><p>Do you have any recommendations for fanfics? It doesn't have to be strictly nct</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. 𝚃𝚎𝚗</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jungwoo knows that being an idol means being flexible. He doesn't have to be happy about it, though.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I do know that Ten's real name is Chittaphon but a reader made me aware that it's more common for Thai people to use their nickname both with family and friends. I want to say thank you to the reader who noticed! </p>
<p>TRIGGER WARNING!<br/>There's a scene from a flashback where Jungwoo thinks back to his trainee days where his teacher forced him to do a stretch even when it hurt. It's a abuse of authority and it's a physical and perhaps mental abuse on Jungwoo.<br/>If this trigger you please read no further and opt for another one of the chapters :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jungwoo should never have become an idol. He should have stayed home in his cosy house with his family filled with cosy love. Where the days were filled with warmth and happiness and the pressure to succeed only came from his parent who wanted the best for him.</p>
<p>He should've studied instead, like his parents had wished, maybe to become a doctor or lawyer, maybe a dentist or engineer. Anything but this pure torture.</p>
<p>The small practice room he was trapped in was small and filled to the brim with members, managers, choreographers and camera people. The room was not even designed to contain all 21 of <em>them</em> and much less this abundance of people. Who had thought of this idea? Who had seriously thought they could all fit in a room that had only been made for the lower ranking idols?</p>
<p>A bigger room would have been much appreciated and it should have been a given now that they were a group of <em>twenty-on</em>e, but they were no Exo, no Shinee, and no Red Velvet after all, what should they need a bigger and better practise room of higher quality for?</p>
<p>It was sweltering hot, stank of sweat and teenage boys mixed with the overly sprayed cheap cologne the 'grown-up' men had put on in dosages so big that it wouldn't surprise Jungwoo if they had bathed in it before going to work. It was nauseating.</p>
<p>If that hadn't done it, they had now been ordered to stretch. Not a normal stretch though, no, this was a high class, extremely difficult, almost unable level of stretching. They had been training for their next comeback and this choreography was more difficult than anything they had ever done before. It demanded more strength and concentration, more of everything, but the highest demand was of flexibility.</p>
<p>By no means was Jungwoo stiff, what an insult, he had trained for four years, but this was a new level of unmanageable.</p>
<p>Maybe he should've listened to his parents' concerns of him leaving behind his hometown to chase his dream of becoming a singer, ultimately an idol. Not that they had been opposed to the idea, just wary of his future but SM Entertainment was a big company and therefore a big opportunity.</p>
<p>Even when the chances of debut seemed so far away, so slim, his parents had supported him as best as they could with the distance between them. Perhaps it would've been better if they had forced him to stay.</p>
<p>So there he was sitting, in a pool of his own cooling sweat, contemplating his whole life and whether he should just give up on being an idol or if he really should keep going all the while their dance teacher loudly instructed them to pair up for a better opportunity to stretch.</p>
<p>Already exhausted and drained, Jungwoo optioned to move to a corner by himself so he could stretch there. He just couldn't handle stretching with a partner, another human being, if it meant that he would have to be part of conversations.</p>
<p>It would be even worse if those conversations would have to be about flexibility, and more specific, Jungwoo's flexibility or slight lack thereof.</p>
<p>Jungwoo was flexible, yes, but right now the whole thing seemed out of reach.</p>
<p>When Jungwoo first had joined SM Entertainment it had been apparent and openly stated that if they ever wanted to debut as an idol it required specific qualities.</p>
<p>First off, of course, it was important to have or eventually obtain any form of musical talent. That could either be singing or rapping, and if you really wanted to be noticed, it would be ideal to play an instrument too.</p>
<p>Next, it was all the little things that could decide whether you debuted or not. The personality, the way you interacted with fans, your face. All the companies really wanted was the perfect person who had no flaws and zero faults. Basically a robot.</p>
<p>But one of the most important talents to master was the art of dance. The trainees were taught almost immediately how important dancing was, that it was just as significant as singing and rapping. But to dance and make it look effortless as they were instructed to, it was inevitable that they also had to have strength and flexibility.</p>
<p>When the day of a possible debut came closer and closer, they were pressured slightly more each day to be flexible, and as a trainee in one of the most competitive companies, the stress of being flexible became a vulnerable subject for Jungwoo.</p>
<p>He had screamed his throat raw when the teacher had pressed his legs further out than what they could, held him in a split even when he begged to be let free, and the pain had been unbearable but not more unendurable than the pain of being worse than ever one else.</p>
<p>In the practice room, as debuted idols, he and the others scattered around the room to make room for stretching, and it seemed almost impossible because of how packed the room was and that they had to spread their limbs in all directions didn't make the room less so.</p>
<p>The others had seemed to relax when it was announced they were stretching and as they slowly began, the others easily started stretching and made it look effortless even when Jungwoo knew how hard the stretches were.</p>
<p>Jungwoo could not stop himself from mentally going back to his trainee days in anguish, where he kept to himself after every one of his friends had debuted without him. The lonely days filled with pain, self-hatred and self-doubt.</p>
<p>His competitiveness suddenly came back on full force and he didn't recognize his band members as friends anymore but instead as competitors who were trying to ruin his future as a successful idol so they could get it for themself instead.</p>
<p>Yoonoh and Johnny were quick to team up and were deep in a conversation spoken in English, whispering in low tones as their voices rumbled from their chests because of their low pitched vocals.</p>
<p>Renjun, Yangyang, and Chenle teamed up as well and if not for the two leaders Kun and Taeyong stretching right beside them, they would have split the whole room apart because of their wild movements and the way they hyped each other up.</p>
<p>The two leaders used this stretching time to discuss different topics because they usually didn't have time to talk freely for their fully booked schedules and their lack of free time. </p>
<p>As the others teamed up, Jungwoo moved further and further away from the others, not really feeling like teaming up with anyone.</p>
<p>Unfortunately for him, Ten was standing alone as well. It might have been because of his excessive level of energy that the rest of the members couldn't tolerate at this time of the day. Or maybe it was because of Ten's lack of bones and that he was able to do literally any stretch but so much better than everyone else.</p>
<p>It didn't look like Ten took it personally as he merrily scanned the room for a prey and right at that moment Jungwoo coincidentally looked up and they made eye contact.</p>
<p>Ten brightened and practically skipped over to where Jungwoo was starting to slump, his shoulders pulled up to his ears as to hide. He let out a defeated sigh right before Ten came up to him.</p>
<p>He knew Ten wanted to stretch together and any other day Jungwoo might have been honoured that the King Of Flexibility wanted to partner up with him but today he just wasn't sure if he could handle it. Especially not with where his thoughts had gone and where they were going.</p>
<p>"Jungwoo-ya, you have to team up with me!" Ten excitedly insisted, "I have no one else to stretch with."</p>
<p>As if that was the end of the discussion, Ten sat himself down in front of a very baffled Jungwoo.</p>
<p>Had Ten only chosen to stretch with him as a last resort? Was he really that bad?</p>
<p>Jungwoo's thoughts went wild and as they hit, his mood soured even more.</p>
<p>Maybe he was worse than what he had initially thought.</p>
<p>Without a word, sound, or change in his expression, Jungwoo turned around to face the mirror, trying very hard not to roll his eyes at himself, the situation and his infuriating Hyung.</p>
<p>Hearing no declination, Ten eagerly moved behind Jungwoo to start the exercises their teacher had suggested.</p>
<p>Jungwoo parted his legs and went to lean forward to gain more from the exercise as he found the split the most difficult and the move he struggled with the most, and while trying to survive the awful pain of going into a split, he closed off from his surroundings, thinking deeply and only focusing on the pain and on getting better, better, better.</p>
<p>He slowly inched forward with his hands flat on the floor in front of him, parting his legs more and more as he lowered his torso closer and closer to the ground, trying to lessen the pain while still gradually improving.</p>
<p>And then the pain took over everything and every thought. A hand had travelled up his back, placing itself between his shoulder blades and <em>pushed </em>him forward and closer to the ground.</p>
<p>A choked off scream nestled itself in his throat and instead a whimper escaped his tightly closed lips.</p>
<p>Jungwoo's stomach rested against the cold floor and it felt like being back in his 16-year-old body that had suffered the same pain, if not even worse, when he was training.</p>
<p>He must have blacked out for a short while because, in the next second, Ten had moved so he was pressing his own chest onto Jungwoo's back and both pushing him further down on the floor while using his hands to split Jungwoo's slender legs.</p>
<p>"Hey! Hey, Ten, seriously, dude? You know not everyone is as flexible as you, right? Take it easy on him," Johnny scolded from across the room where he and Yoonoh had stopped after hearing the soft, pained whimper coming from the bend-over Jungwoo.</p>
<p>At that everyone seemed to stop whatever action they were doing to turn around and look at the people who had been mentioned. The astonishing picture they saw was Jungwoo flat on his stomach with his legs performing a perfect split, so beautiful because of his long legs and perfectly pointed toes.</p>
<p>But then they heard the pained whimpers Jungwoo was constantly letting out, wondered why he didn't fight back against Ten who was both smaller and lighter, and who he could've easily thrown off of him.</p>
<p>Jungwoo was aware that he could stop the pain at any given moment but would that help him improve? Would that benefit him in the long run? He might as well deal with the pain now and increase his flexibility fast.</p>
<p>Ten could feel the whimpers vibrate through his own chest and jumped back, shocked and feeling guilty for putting the younger in such pain.</p>
<p>"Oh no! I'm so sorry, Jungwoo-ya! Please, you have to tell me if I'm doing something that hurts!"</p>
<p>The other members watched it unfold with an interest they could only have when their day had been filled with absolutely nothing but training, training, training. This was the first break where they could let their thoughts drift onto something other than sing better, rap better, dance better, be better, and they looked on with interest.</p>
<p>Ten was genuinely sorry and Jungwoo, who was having direct eye contact with the older, could clearly see how tears of concentrated guilt were gathering in his eyes that were big with the initial surprise.</p>
<p>"No, Hyung, it's not your fault. I promise! I'm just not very flexible...maybe you should push a little harder," Jungwoo uttered in his vulnerable, soft voice and he looked just as sad as Ten.</p>
<p>Maybe he was just as sad. Maybe he was as angry and frustrated as all the other people sitting in the room. Because he couldn't be the only one wanting to make progress, wanting to be better, but never actually seeing an improvement in the scale he wanted it to be.</p>
<p>The fact that Ten hadn't meant to hurt him but had because of his own stupid self-doubts, made him feel both defeated, dejected and shameful for making his Hyung feel guilty. Ten surely hadn't meant for Jungwoo to whine like a baby and start to cry to make all the other groupmates pity him. Now he put his Hyung in a bad light.</p>
<p>Ten had every right to be angry. He had every right to not want to help him anymore. He was both so much better and he didn't need anything from Jungwoo but now he probably saw Jungwoo as ungrateful and weak. </p>
<p>While the dejected puppy sat there, extremely sad and put out for various reasons, Ten could almost hear the inner dialogue Jungwoo had and hear how he was on the brink of crying just like himself. </p>
<p>Suddenly, or as sudden it could be, everything felt too overwhelming for Jungwoo and he hurriedly turned around to burrow his face in his hands and let the first tears spill. He let the sob sink to his stomach so no one could hear while he let every resentment and every failure out with the salty water stream. </p>
<p>What he hadn't thought about was the mirror that was reflecting his figure to everyone looking into it. And if people didn't do that they could see his shoulders shake, his hair shake and his form shrinking into an even smaller and delicate ball of unhappiness.   </p>
<p>Johnny sent Ten a look. Not a look of resent or disappointment but one that asked Ten to pacify the crying boy as he was the only one that could calm him in his state of outrage at himself. </p>
<p>Once again, Ten laid himself on Jungwoo's back but this time it was not meant to be a help for flexibility but a help to comfort the vulnerable, crying boy.</p>
<p>He folded his much smaller body around the trembling younger and brought both his hands up to cover the ones hiding Jungwoo's face.</p>
<p>He leaned down to one of the junior's ears and whispered soothingly, "It's okay, baby. It's going to be okay."</p>
<p>At the same time, he tried to carefully remove the slender hands from covering the spilling eyes and the rest of the discontent face by rubbing them encouragingly and parting the fingers so he could meet the red eyes of Jungwoo's in the mirror.</p>
<p>"Look at me, Jungwoo-ah."</p>
<p>Jungwoo's tried to meet the intense stare in the mirror but had to seek shelter in looking at the floor when it became too intense. There was too much love in that gaze. Too much love and too much proudness.</p>
<p>"Baby, look at me."</p>
<p>The two extra hands moved Jungwoo's head up and he was forced to meet the loving look that eyes in the mirror sported. The eyes caressed his face slowly, the hands caressed softly as well, and his tears, he was so tired of them, stopped abruptly. The ones still on his flushed cheeks, slowly sunk into his supple skin.</p>
<p>"Why are you crying? Why are your beautiful eyes crying? Why is my baby this sad?"</p>
<p>Jungwoo shrugged as the whole scene that had just happened was nothing and didn't matter.</p>
<p>"You can't tell me that you're mad at yourself. That's not it, is it, baby?"</p>
<p>Ten furrowed his brows and leaned even further down to place his head right beside Jungwoo's. Their eyes never strayed from each other in the mirror.</p>
<p>Ten was much smarter than he ever let on and it was not a hard task for him to know what was bothering the younger. Not after putting all the hints together.</p>
<p>"Can't you see how many goals you have already reached? How much you have achieved?"</p>
<p>"I—I know but it's just so frustrating being the only one who's this awful. And then this one bad thing makes me forget all the good things, a—and now I just feel bad at everything and it makes me mad at you, and myself, and everyone else."</p>
<p>"Jungwoo-yah, you can't ever get far in life if you keep comparing yourself with others. So what if you can't do a split? Yuta and Donghyuck can't either. You have to remember the things you're good at. Like playing football and dancing, and you're good at singing and talking with new people. There will always be someone who's just a tad bit better than you, and so what? You might not see your progress in one day, you might not see it in a month, but in two months you can look back and see how you've become better, how far you've come."</p>
<p>Jungwoo was speechless for a moment while he pondered and reflected over Ten's surprisingly wise rant.</p>
<p>"I-I guess so, Hyung. Thank you for cheering me up," Jungwoo said while smiling sweetly at the older, so much that his eyes turned into pretty half-moons. It was not like he had experienced an epiphany or that everything had magically become better but hearing someone supporting him this much made him feel at ease. Made him feel lucky, even.</p>
<p>Jungwoo felt Ten gliding down his back and onto the floor and suddenly two short arms were wrapped around his middle and a head full of soft hair nestled right in the crook of his neck.</p>
<p>"Hyung'll help you, okay. I'll make sure you're flexible in no time. You won't be as flexible as me at first but I've trained since I was very young, perhaps you won't ever be as good but you know what? That doesn't matter, because you will be the best version of you and that's all that matters."</p>
<p>Jungwoo had never known his Hyung to be this wise and he had never known Ten to be one to give this good advice but it was, as stupid as it may sound, as if his worries settled. They didn't disappear, how could they ever when they had been shoved down his throat when he was young, but they became less significant, they became smaller.</p>
<p>As he sat there, his Hyung practically glued to his back and his other beloved bandmates surrounding him, the world, once again, became bearable and he realized that he had come far. He had been successful in some way and even if there was always someone who had done better than him, it didn't seem to disturb him as much.</p>
<p>Another person's happiness was his happiness. And as he remembered that quote by Taeyong he realized that he wanted to live that way. Live to be happy for others and to be happy for himself.</p>
<p>He would work on that.</p>
<p>He was well on the way to reach new goals and achieve new successes with some of the people he loved most in the world.</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Soooooo...I have an issue. There are two new members of nct if you look at it technically and I'm not sure if I should add them to my collection of one-short. What do you guys think?</p>
<p>I think I'll wait to after the comeback, maybe, to see which group Shotaro and Sungchan will join. I think it's an entirely new sub-unit of nct. Maybe, I'll see if they have a moment with Jungwoo and then add them. I already think it's going to be hard to write about the WayV members when they've barely had any interactions with Jungwoo so it's probably even harder with two new members. Let me know what you think!</p>
<p>P.S if you have any ideas for a storyline/plot to the other chapters, I would really like to hear them! I'll dedicate the chapter to you if you help me with a plot hehe</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. 𝙹𝚊𝚎𝚑𝚢𝚞𝚗</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jungwoo is tired, Jungwoo's legs are tired but Yoonoh's got his back. Or maybe it's the other way, Jungwoo has got Yoonoh's back. Quite literally.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>If you're perhaps a new fan, Jaehyun's real name is Yoonoh and that's the name I'll be using in this story. Just so there are no uncertainties or any confusion in that regard.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jungwoo was laying on the floor, panting. His eyes were closed and his arms were placed above his head in a pathetic attempt to catch his breath and cool down just a little.</p><p>The dance practice had been harsh and draining, and it was so tempting for Jungwoo to just lay still and fall asleep on the floor. The floor was uncomfortably hard, yes, but also very much comfortably cold. It didn't matter that he had a wonderful bed at home, with a fluffy comforter he could burrow himself in and a delicious amount of pillows perfect for snuggling into, snuggling on, and snuggling with.</p><p>Maybe he kind of wanted to go home to his wonderful room. The room he shared with Yoonoh, who was the best roommate ever. Funny and not so neat and obsessed with cleaning that it got stressful. He was quiet at night when Jungwoo went to bed early and he was always nice in the morning no matter how early they awoke, no matter how few hours they had gotten of sleep.</p><p>The biggest perk, though, of having Yoonoh as his roommate was the broad shoulders he possessed, his muscular chest and strong arms. The traits made him perfect for cuddles and Yoonoh didn't seem to mind. Not that much at least.</p><p>The sweat trickled down his chin and down his parched and arched throat. More sweat dripped from his soaked t-shirt and smeared on to the floor, probably disgustingly dirty from the sweat they had created in earlier dance practices. Who knew when the floors were last cleaned.</p><p>Jungwoo's eyes felt heavy and only became more so as time passed where he lay completely still. He fell in and out of consciousness and it was hard to concentrate on the voices floating around his head.</p><p>".... Maybe.... Home...?"</p><p>"... Woo...ungwoo...Jungwoo," a soft breathe whispered right in his ear.</p><p>A body curled up to Jungwoo and a heavy head was placed on his heaving chest. Mark's blond hair tickled his nose.</p><p>"Jungwoo, the others are leaving to go home now, aren't you coming? Your bed is so much more comfortable than the floor."</p><p>Jungwoo didn't answer and seconds passed. He had to gather the strength and willingness to open his mouth and move his tongue so he could speak.</p><p>"I'll even let you cuddle me. Come on, Jungwoo."</p><p>It was a tempting offer. Mark almost never wanted to cuddle and especially not with him because he complained that the older ran too hot. Jungwoo was often cold and therefore he had a higher tolerance for warm temperatures which was a pain for some of the members who liked to sleep in a cold climate. Which included Mark.</p><p>Still, the offer wasn't tempting enough to make him move. When he cuddled Mark it was mostly him that initiated the snuggling and in the space of tiredness he was in now, he preferred someone to cuddle him and someone to take care of him.</p><p>"Don't wanna move... mmm," Jungwoo groaned out, "can't move my feet."</p><p>Mark rolled his eyes at the lazy voice Jungwoo let out. Fondly, though. At least as fondly he could do when he was as exhausted as Jungwoo.</p><p>Jungwoo nuzzled more eagerly into Mark's blonde mop of hair and even though it was probably gross with all the sweat his hair contained, Mark let out a happy noise. They looked like two golden puppies cuddled up closely together, nuzzling and sniffling in each other's hair.</p><p>"Mark, carry me home, please, can't move."</p><p>"I'm sorry, Jungwoo-yah, but I can't carry you. Have you looked at my arms? They're <em>weak. </em>You're a grown man anyways, you should walk by yourself," Mark snorted and Jungwoo groaned, once again, at the displeasing answer.</p><p>Mark gave one last nuzzle to Jungwoo's chest before he rolled off and moved to stand up. He reached down to help Jungwoo, holding a hand out for Jungwoo to take, and when their hands grasped each other, Mark pulled with all his might to get Jungwoo to stand vertically.</p><p>When both of Jungwoo's legs stood on the ground, upholding his body, they started to shake.</p><p>It began with a small trembling that made his thighs shake softly but it quickly escalated to violent tremors shaking all of his legs and both of them. His muscles couldn't hold him up any longer and they buckled under his weight.</p><p>His knees hit the floor harshly and a loud clunk sounded in the room, echoing. The few members still residing in the room whipped their heads around to see where the commotion was and when they saw a body going down towards the ground they were quickly at his side, only taking a few seconds to throw themselves across the room.</p><p>Jungwoo felt gravity pull his heavy body down, down towards the floor, and he did nothing to stop it. He didn't flex his thighs and used the muscles to keep his upper body upright while kneeling and he didn't put out his arms and hands to take some of the fall. He willingly crumbled on the floor.</p><p>It didn't hurt, only the fall to his knees did, and he wasn't dizzy in any way. The others didn't know that, though, and he didn't have the capacity to inform them of such, so, he let them fret around him, worrying and stressing.</p><p>Yoonoh squatted down beside him and took his hand with one of his own and placed the other on his cheek.</p><p>"Jungwoo, what's wrong?! Did you faint?! Are you sick?!"</p><p>Jungwoo smiled tiredly up at him while Johnny and Dongyoung touched and probed at his legs, feet, and stomach.</p><p>"Hyung... M'tired. Wanna sleep, Hyung, but I can't move. I tried. Mark said I had to. But I can't, Hyung. I really can't," Jungwoo whimpered out while looking pleadingly at Yoonoh.</p><p>"I'm so tired," he whispered again but this time more to himself than to his surrounding band members. He nuzzled into the cold hand that was placed on his cheek, Yoonoh's he reminded himself. It was rough from all the time he had used in the gym over the past years. Rougher than he remembered but Yoonoh had also been to the gym much more frequently.</p><p>"Guys, I don't think he's sick, but he's really tired."</p><p>"No, Hyung, you don't understand. I can't move. I'm not just tired and it's not because I don't <em>want </em>to move but I can't. My muscles don't work. I'm not trying to get you to carry me because I'm lazy," Jungwoo pouted at them all. "I'm not a brat," he insisted in a whisper.</p><p>"Of course not, Jungwoo baby, we believe you when you say you can't walk."</p><p>Jungwoo could see how the older ones exchanged looks and how they seemed to come to the same conclusion.</p><p>"We can't sit here. It would be better if he lay down on something softer and more comfortable so we need to go home. We can't leave him here under any circumstances anyway. We just need to figure out a way to get him home."</p><p>They didn't address him anymore and talked internally between themselves. Normally it would have annoyed him, probably angered him, but he was kind of out of it and he had Yoonoh's amazing hand on his cheek.</p><p>Jungwoo could see that older was no longer participating in the discussion because his brown eyes were fully concentrating their focus on him.</p><p>Jungwoo attempted to move closer with the little strength he had in his upper body, much like how Mark had done to him a little earlier, before the fall.</p><p>Yoonoh sat down now, no longer sitting in a crouch on his heels, and he moved Jungwoo's head to rest on his thighs. They felt nice under his head. Muscular but soft.</p><p>The older raked a hand through Jungwoo's hair and gently started a massage in the back of his head. Jungwoo could feel his soul leave his body at the incredible feeling of all his tensions leaving his body and he let his eyes fall shut as his whole body went pliant.</p><p>"There you go, buddy." Yoonoh was talking low enough that only Jungwoo paid attention, still rubbing his neck in rhythmic circles, "is there something I can do to help? At all?"</p><p>Jungwoo thought carefully about the words, wondering if he should squeeze a request or two in now that he had his Hyung's pity but decided against it. He had really scared them all for a split second and it didn't feel right to take advantage of their affection for him. And if he was completely honest with himself, he would much rather just go home and sleep his muscle ache away in his bed. Possibly cuddled up with Yoonoh.</p><p>"This may be stupid but, Hyung, maybe you can carry me? I know I asked Mark and he said no and I also know that you just spent all your energy dancing and with the way your muscles swell you probably use a lot of your strength in the gym and with how tall I am and with how many meals a day I eat it'll probably be really hard to carry me the whole way but maybe to the car? Then I could rest my legs in the car and then maybe I could walk myself up to our floor? Maybe if I had help, maybe if someone supported my side the way up I could," Jungwoo babbled, ranting and almost using his fingers to count the advantages and disadvantages.</p><p>Yoonoh chuckled over him and stopped his wonderful massaging despite Jungwoo's whimper of complaint.</p><p>"Of course I'll carry you, Jungwoo, it's honestly not that much a trouble. I'll just carry you on my back and it'll be easy. You're not too heavy for me and especially not after I've used so much time in the gym, as you put it. It's no problem at all, let me carry you."</p><p>Yoonoh's moved from under him and moved Jungwoo to sit up while supporting his back.</p><p>" Thank you, Hyungie, hehe," Jungwoo giggled, clearly a little out of it, as he moved around as much as his weak legs would allow him so he could get comfortable while supporting himself so Yoonoh could stand up.</p><p>Yoonoh squatted down in front of Jungwoo with his back to him and he spread his hands out in invitation for Jungwoo to climb it. Dongyoung helped to move the worn-out puppy onto the strong back.</p><p>Jungwoo wound his arms tight around Yoonoh's shoulders because he actually had working muscles in them. His long, lean legs fit perfectly into the older's big hands and Jungwoo nuzzled into the throat in front of him.</p><p>It was warm and smelled delicious of warmth and home, of purely Yoonoh, and Jungwoo ferociously tried to rub the scent on to his own skin.</p><p>He could feel how his hair, which had become long lately, clearly tickled Yoonoh who made sneezing noises and tried to blow the strands away.</p><p>"Am I annoying you, Hyung?"</p><p>It was teasing and light and the older just laughed a coo him, "Of course not, puppy. Your hair is not in the way at all and your nose is definitely not cold."</p><p>"Be careful, Hyung. I might bite you!"</p><p>"Oh, you will, now? Are you sure you dare? I don't think that little puppy would try to anything with his beloved Hyung who he knows would fight back."</p><p>Jungwoo playfully roared and moved to latch onto Yoonoh's ear. He nibbled the earlobe first and became awed at the soft and squishy surface, and then he bit the tip of Yoonoh's other ear.</p><p>He reached his fingers out to squeeze the lobe again and he caressed it again and again.</p><p>"I told you I would bite."</p><p>It was said distracted as Jungwoo was more interested in Yoonoh's ear, by the time, than to try and intimidate him.</p><p>He continued his nibbling and suckling and took delight in how perfectly his thighs seemed so fit into the hands of the man who carried him and how Yoonoh moved his thumbs in a caress against the aching part of his upper leg, his thighs.</p><p>Almost the entire way down to the car this continued until Yonnoh quietly and begrudgingly asked him to stop. A sour protest and cute pout from Jungwoo's side were handed out directly to Yoonoh who cooed once again at the angry puppy that didn't look intimidating at all, in Yoonoh's opinion and probably also in everyone else's opinion. He looked like the angry puppy he was.</p><p>Later, when they arrived at the dorm, Yoonoh once again carried Jungwoo on his back all the way upstairs to their room on the 10th floor where he was gently laid on the opposite bed of his own which meant that Yoonoh was up for cuddling, just like Jungwoo had wished.</p><p>Yoonoh disappeared into the bathroom just after leaving Jungwoo on his back on top of the soft bed. Jungwoo figured the older wanted to get ready for bed but he himself was already in the process of tugging himself into the big fluffy pillows and big fluffy duvet. That had to be a morning problem.</p><p>When Yoonoh came back again he slid right in beside Jungwoo and enveloped the younger in a cozy warmth that felt like a hug.</p><p>The said younger sternly commanded that Yoonoh turned around and when he had done so, Jungwoo curled in closer to him and acted as the big spoon. This way he could lazily nibble on the tender earlobe again while he relaxed in the crook of the strong neck.</p><p>Jungwoo could feel Yoonoh's strong back against his chest and it felt nice to hug him from behind while nosing at his neck. Almost as good as being engulfed in hugs as the little spoon.</p><p>Yoonoh lifted an arm to caress his fuzzy locks and if he had been a cat he would have purred. Instead, he let out a content sigh right into the older's ear which made him break out in goosebumps.</p><p>Jungwoo cuddled in closer to create heat between them and now they were glued to each other but Yoonoh didn't seem to mind.</p><p>Even though Yoonoh wasn't behind him to hug him it still felt like the older initiated the calming cuddling by caressing and petting and kissing whatever he could reach from where he was laying.</p><p>Jungwoo felt cared for, he felt completely sated and he definitely felt relaxed. He knew that even when he was holding Yoonoh's back Yoonoh would have his. Not in the literal sense but in the supporting sense where he would assist him in whatever problem and encourage his decisions.</p><p>So when he was laying there, legs and mind tired while holding Yoonoh's back he knew that in spirit, Yoonoh got his back in return. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Any ideas for future plots?? :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. 𝚆𝚒𝚗𝚠𝚒𝚗</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Sicheng experience a homesickness so overwhelming it drowns him and Jungwoo jumps in to save him.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>If you're perhaps a new stan, Winwin's real name is Sicheng and that's the name I'll be using in this story. Just so there are no uncertainties or any confusion in that regard.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Being observant was one of the special qualities Jungwoo possessed that he was really proud of.</p><p>From picking up small technicalities in choreographs that made learning the dance easy for him and did that he could dance it prettily, to noticing small details on his members like them getting a hair cut when no one else could tell, to him seeing when something was missing even if it was a small lip balm he hadn't touched in years.</p><p>Therefore it wasn't a surprise that he had picked up how Sicheng seemed down lately before the others had even noticed.</p><p>It was not very obvious. He still smiled, he still laughed, and he was still a part of their gatherings and activities so it was not that he had completely shut off but there was still something about how his shoulders seemed to slump or how he would get a far off look in his eyes every time they watched movies.</p><p>It was like Jungwoo could see, could feel, the ice growing inside Sicheng the longer it went on.</p><p>It was normal for Sicheng to keep to himself, not fond of sharing feelings and affection more than what was necessary because they all knew that he loved them regardless and Sicheng trusted them to know.</p><p>It was natural for the singer to overthink and try and fix everything by himself and it was obvious, to Jungwoo at least, that Sicheng was running himself dry, spilling all his energy into doing everything himself.</p><p>In the morning, Sicheng would stumble to the table, which, in itself, was not an unusual occurrence, most of the members did because they stayed up way too late to play video games, but Sicheng was very rational and he never stayed up later that what was reasonable. Of course, he always tried to cover it up, and it worked on all of them except on Jungwoo.</p><p>The way Sicheng made eye contact with him over the table told Jungwoo that he knew. He knew he was discovered, and he secretly let Jungwoo see his exhausted smile as a confidant, private secret between them, a fast thing that no one else but them would be fast enough to figure out what was.</p><p>At their movie gathering that night, Sicheng had, like always, chosen a corner in their bizarrely large couch, covering himself in a thick, fluffy blanket as to comfort himself. When Taeil lovingly sat down beside him and nuzzled into his side, Sicheng didn't even bother to push him away, much to Taeil's satisfaction and to the other's wonder. Nobody seemed to care all that much and they playfully fought about who could sit beside the Beloved By All Sicheng.</p><p>This only confirmed Jungwoo's suspicion and he immediately recognized the far-away look, both as the one Sicheng lately had used a lot but also from his time with Lucas and Kun.</p><p>Sometimes the two of them, Kun and Lucas, had gathered together closely on the couch and shared soft whispers in Mandarin and there was no doubt in Jungwoo's mind that they spoke of their home.</p><p>The others had surely also experienced the same. A lot of them had traveled far from their home to reach their dream and the other half who hadn't moved too far from home, had trained closely with someone who had.</p><p>But with Jungwoo's observance and his own sensitive feelings, it was easier for him to identify the look in their eyes.</p><p>Jungwoo moved forward on his own seat to meet Sicheng's wet eyes and when they met, the bundled-up male's bottom lip trembled.</p><p>Jungwoo was quick to move from his seat on the pillow one-seat, to the floor in front of his half crying band member. He leaned backward until his back hit the bony shins of Sicheng and made himself comfortable. His neck just about made it to Sicheng's knobby knees and he moved his head back to look up at the person he was leaning against. Sicheng fondly met his eyes.</p><p>"Are you okay, Hyung?"</p><p>It was nothing but a whisper but I looked like Sicheng could mouth read the sentence.</p><p>"Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry, Jungwoo-yah."</p><p>"I can't help but worry for you, Hyung. I always worry for you guys."</p><p>"I know that, so you shouldn't overwork your smart brain with this little problem of mine. Watch the movie, Jungwoo-yah." As if the whole conversation was over, Sicheng burrowed his long fingers into Jungwoo's scalp and started gently massaging away all the pent up stress that Jungwoo hadn't even known was there.</p><p>He felt his entire soul leave his body as he let out a sigh and melted against Sicheng's legs, eyes going cross and shortly after rolling into the back of his head as Sicheng found the spot behind his ear.</p><p>He felt like a puppy getting scratched behind its ears but he didn't complain. Not at all as Sicheng continued raking his digits through his locks through the rest of the movie.</p><p>But the whole dilemma had not disappeared along with all the tenseness.</p><p>When Jungwoo knew all the members had gone to bed, some of them already sleeping soundly which included Yoonoh, his roommate, he noiselessly left his own room and tip-toed down the hall to locate Sicheng's single room.</p><p>Sicheng didn't seem especially surprised when Jungwoo opened the door, cringing when the door squeaked in protest. Sicheng looked up from where he was completely covered in a mix of a duvet and several blankets. His eyes were rimmed with redness and there was no doubt that he had been crying, and with the way he was shaking Jungwoo knew he was choking down any sobs before they could make a sound.</p><p>"Hyung, Hyung, Hyung, what's wrong? Please, tell me? I want to help. Please, let me help you, Hyung."</p><p>Sicheng only shook his head without saying anything and then he disappeared under the bundle of blankets.</p><p>"Tell what the problem is, Hyung. If you tell me maybe I can help. I'll try my best to help. Tell me whatever it is and if it's really bad I can talk to Taeyong-Hyung or one of the others."</p><p>Jungwoo was on the edge of crying himself, moving towards it so quickly that there was no stopping it.</p><p>"H-Hyung, please!"</p><p>He couldn't hold in his sniffle or the one teardrop rolling down his cheek.</p><p>Sicheng seemed to be startled by the desperate plead and he was once again visible, having sat up in the bed, staring at Jungwoo in wonder as if he couldn't believe someone would be so worried about him.</p><p>"Hyung, I just want to help. When you're sad I get sad." Jungwoo moved towards the bed and sat on the edge of the bed on his knees, "I want you to be happy so, please, tell me if I can make it better somehow."</p><p>Sicheng shyly looked down and traced his hands nervously over the duvet, making crinkling sounds with the action.</p><p>"It's just..." Sicheng trailers off, "lately I've been feeling really... Homesick? I guess that's what you would call it. I really miss my parents and my siblings. And I miss speaking Mandarin with people that understand it well. And I miss the food and I-I... I just want to go home!"</p><p>He broke down in sobs again and a wail, so painful it broke Jungwoo's heart, escaped his lips.</p><p>"I want to go home, I want to go home."</p><p>Without any hesitation Jungwoo enveloped his crying band member in his arms, trying to calm him with soft whispers of comfort while he tried to solve the problem that clearly affected the boy so greatly.</p><p>"Hyung, I'm not sure I can really do anything to make the feeling disappear completely but - but I can try to make it better. Would you like that? Is that okay?"</p><p>There were a few seconds where Sicheng stayed perfectly still, not moving a centimeter and Jungwoo was about to look if the boy had fallen asleep but right when he moved to change position, he could feel Sicheng nod into his neck.</p><p>"Yeah? Okay, well why don't we put on a movie? You can decide which one and then we can set the language to Mandarin. I'll just read the subtitles."</p><p>This seemed to excite Sicheng and while he started up the TV in his room, Jungwoo almost flew to the kitchen to collect some of the Chinese snacks they had laying around in their cabinets. He wanted to remind Sicheng of his home country as best as he could and when he couldn't bring Sicheng back home to China he would have to bring China to him.</p><p>Sicheng had made a mountain of pillows against the headboard when Jungwoo walked back into the room with his arms full of rice crackers of different tastes that he knew the older would enjoy. Sicheng patted the space between himself and the edge of the bed and while he himself curled into the corner where the bed met the wall, Jungwoo crawled under the covers and made himself comfortable, and placing the snacks at their knees.</p><p>"Jungwoo-yah, get over here."</p><p>Jungwoo tried not to show how surprised he was that Sicheng actually wanted to show physical affection but Sicheng must have seen it because he was quick to say, "don't get used to it. It's a one-time thing and it will only happen today. And only because I know that your cuddles are the best mood lifter."</p><p>As a dog who was presented with a treat, Jungwoo almost wagged his non-existent tail as he nearly jumped onto Sicheng. He cuddled close to the warmth emitting from his Hyung and he threw a long leg over the said member's waist. He lifted his head from where he had placed it on Sicheng's surprisingly sturdy chest to look into his eyes.</p><p>"You know, Hyung, you can always come to me. Whatever the problem is I'll always try to help and if I can't, I will try to make you feel better. I don't care how silly you think it is."</p><p>"Yes, I know that, Jungwoo. I promise I won't let it drag on for so long next time."</p><p>Jungwoo relaxed his neck again and settled down on the warm chest right over the heart beating inside and reveled in the way it slowed down to a comfortable pace. He focused his eyes on the animation movie Sicheng had chosen, a favorite among them from Studio Ghibli that made the both of them feel nostalgic. Even more for Sicheng as he had grown up with the characters speaking Mandarin.</p><p>Jungwoo almost jumped out of his skin when an unexpected hand began petting his hair where it was sprawled under him on Sicheng's chest. It was sad that Sicheng hadn't done it before because it felt so good. Like on the couch earlier Sicheng found his weak spot right away. The one right behind his ear that would have made him purr loudly if he had been a cat. Instead content sighs left his lips every now and then, and Sicheng cooed soundlessly at him behind his head.</p><p>Jungwoo reached out and opened a cracker, taking a bite before reaching behind him blindly to give it to Sicheng. Since he couldn't tell where his mouth was from the sitting position they were in, he held it a few centimeters from where he knew the older's head was so that Sicheng could reach out himself to take it.</p><p>When he felt the gentle tug he let go entirely of the cracker and silently hoped that Sicheng wouldn't spill crumbs all over the covers. Even though it wasn't his own bed but Sicheng's.</p><p>As the movie played the gentle voices that spoke in the language that sounded so smooth in Jungwoo's ears made him almost entirely at peace. Every thought left his body and he sunk in so close to the Chinese boy beside him that they were almost one.</p><p>Jungwoo couldn't be the only one feeling so because Sicheng leaned on him more and more until he completely rested on Jungwoo and said boy was elated that he had gotten Sicheng to calm down a little and that he had lifted the heavy, bothering thoughts from the homesick boy.</p><p>"You know, Jungwoo-yah, what you did really lifted a heavy weight from my chest. I still miss home a little but it means a lot to me that you tried..."</p><p>Jungwoo looked up at his older band member and observed how Sicheng's long lashes fluttered over his soft cheeks as his eyes opened and closed from exhaustion.</p><p>"Of course, Hyung, everything for you."</p><p>It was as if Sicheng hesitated and really thought about what he should say next but when his eyes met Jungwoo's he slowly opened his mouth to whisper, "I love you, Jungwoo-yah."</p><p>The sentiment almost moved Jungwoo to tears and he let out a touched laugh filled with happiness and wet eyes.</p><p>"I love you too, Hyung. So much."</p><p>And Jungwoo wrapped himself around Sicheng like an octopus, nuzzling his head into whatever he could reach and the whispered a, "I'm tired, Hyung, we should probably sleep. You haven't been sleeping so well lately. You need a lot of sleep to catch up. Let's sleep."</p><p>Sicheng was about to move from under Jungwoo so he could turn off the computer but Jungwoo was faster and he shut it, lifted it, and placed it on the bedside table that was almost empty of things except for a few jewelry pieces, a glass a water, a pair of headphones and a night lamp.</p><p>They both moved a little further down under the blankets and snuggled up to each other like two kittens seeking warmth. And when that was attained, it didn't take long before they both were sound asleep.</p><p>The next morning when the both of them tiredly stumbled out of Sicheng's room, dizzy from sleep, to get to the breakfast table, it was with smiles covering the both of their faces entirely and it was a beautiful contrast to the usual melancholic look Sicheng had worn in the mornings before.</p><p>It was definitely not the last time one of them felt a homesickness so overwhelming it would choke them and it was not the last time Jungwoo would notice one of them drowning in it. But if that also meant it was not the last time he would get to spend the precious quality time with his members he would gladly jump into deep water to drag them onto land again.</p><p>And if he had to sacrifice some of his time to take care of his bandmates whom he loved so dearly it was really no problem at all. </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. 𝙻𝚞𝚌𝚊𝚜</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jungwoo wears his heart on his sleeve so no one is ever surprised when he burst into tears.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>If you're perhaps a new stan, Lucas's real name is Yukhei and that's the name I'll be using in this story. Just so there are no confusions or uncertainties.</p><p>this story is dedicated to VandeadAlice, who came up with the idea for the chapter. thank you :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Jungwoo had debuted into a group that already had consisted, somewhat successfully, for two years, he had not done it alone.</p><p>He had nervously met the old friends he had trained with a long time ago with two caring friends at his side who were experiencing the exact same thing.</p><p>A caring Hyung who took so good care of him and who he loved so much on one side and a funny younger friend who always made him happy, always made him laugh, and who he loved just as much on the other side. He had been protected from both sides, protected in a bubble of soft love and affection, because they both knew how easily he could break, how he wore his heart on his sleeves.</p><p>They had supported him from the start, held his hand, had his back, and supported him, always.</p><p>Kun had been like an older brother. He took responsibility, he was coordinated and he cared for both Jungwoo and Yukhei. All of which he had needed in the dark times as a trainee.</p><p>Yukhei, on the other hand, was a special case.</p><p>He was younger than Jungwoo by only one year and there were times that Jungwoo prominently could feel the 371 days that separated them but there were also times were Yukhei seemed centuries older than him. With the way he lived his life, how he saw it and how he handled the things it threw at him.</p><p>Yukhei regularly brought a smile to Jungwoo's lips, no matter where they were and what they were doing. Even when they had small insignificant fights and Jungwoo tried to hold a grudge, Yukhei would make him laugh, making faces at him until Jungwoo's face lit up in a beautiful smile and they would fall down together, on the sofa or the bed, and watch funny YouTube videos on Yukhei's phone, laughing until they cried and their stomachs cramped.</p><p>Yukhei had been a friend, someone close to his age. Their personalities complemented each other and whenever they were together people around them could see how they glowed, their fondness of each other showing in their eyes and body language.</p><p>They would giggle quietly between themselves, not in a rude way that made others uncertain but in a way that almost made the other members coo at them.</p><p>Kun meant as much to Jungwoo as Yukhei did, all the members meant as much, but Yukhei was his special friend. They were close both physically and mentally and since they had used so much time together, only the three of them, Kun, Jungwoo, and Yukhei, they were like a three-leafed clover. And since the two of them, Jungwoo and Yukhei, used a lot of time defying Kun, who was like a guardian for them, they grew close.</p><p>They grew even closer when they started training together for their first debut. Kun was not to participate in the Boss comeback and the two troublemakers were like two peas in a pot, always seeking the other out and clinging together like they had grown together like two sticks, one body two souls. Maybe they were more one soul distributed into two different bodies.</p><p>Every week, every day, every hour, every second was spent in each other's company, and even when the other members were coming and going at the company's command, it was always Jungwoo and Yukhei against the world and ultimately against everything coming their way. And their resistance was quite effective with the way they were both armored with humor, happiness, and a sturdy body.</p><p>Deep inside, though, Jungwoo knew how sensitive he was to everything and how he wore his heart on his sleeve for everyone to see and take advantage of. Luckily he was surrounded by a big group of people he loved and they would never, ever in a million years use his feeling against him but they could all see what he felt all the time, there was no hiding, and Yukhei and Kun, especially, were familiar with this.</p><p>So when they both had sat Jungwoo down on the couch one day and calmly tried to explain how they were going to participate in a new subgroup of NCT, they had of course thought of Jungwoo's weak heart so it was no surprise when he had busted into tears, fat droplets violently wetting his cheeks. What had been a surprise, was the way the Korean boy had run into his room, locked the door, and sobbed himself to sleep all alone.</p><p>He hadn't even been there to wish a farewell to the two Chinese boys who had been such a big part of his trainee days and his early idol life.</p><p>The other members of nct 127 had been even more surprised when Jungwoo hadn't been there to send off his best friend and partner in crime. Yukhei had sadly shrugged his shoulders at them and then he, Kun, and the rest of the WayV members had driven to the airport and taken the first flight to China where their promotion started.</p><p>And then over a year had gone by where the two best friends Jungwoo and Yukhei hadn't seen each other more than a quick smile in the hallways of SM Entertainment when one of them had practice in either dance, singing, or rapping. It was sad and very much so for the delicate Jungwoo who was always a minute away from breaking down into Yukhei's arms, begging and pleading for Yukhei not to leave him, but he would hold in the tears and the sadness in his eyes and wait to break down in the safety of his bathroom where he could sob until his eyes were red and raw from all the saltwater that had flooded them without being interrupted.</p><p>It had become even worse when Yukhei really started his career in WayV because then he had an even tighter packed schedule than Jungwoo, with the travels between two countries almost constantly, and with urgent wishes from the company of having comebacks arranged back to back to move them from the rookie box into the one where they were a popular group.</p><p>And then when there had gone almost a year without any NCT 127 comebacks the time had gone by excruciatingly slow for Jungwoo when he had nothing to take his mind off the longing for his best friend and the loneliness he experienced without his partner in crime and cuddle buddy.</p><p>Every second of the day felt too long and not even with the mindset of taking one day at a time made Jungwoo better. The atmosphere in his room became more and more gloomy until the air was filled with only melancholy and when his other friends stepped into it they were met with darkness and nothing but that.</p><p>The first couple of weeks, couple of months, after Yukhei and the six other members of WayV had started the training to debut together, Jungwoo and Yukhei had tried to keep the contact by face timing but then it had easily stopped when Yukhei had too much on his plate with work to actually call and sometimes when the timezone didn't add up for them it was hard to get in contact.</p><p>They started a thread of text and those were kept up for a good six months before they became far and few in between and then Jungwoo had felt like he was imposing in an annoying way so he had only texted when Yukhei was the one initiating the conversation but with the way that the younger was so busy, the texting stopped completely a year after they had parted.</p><p>Sometimes Jungwoo had gotten an update from Kun who still, though rarely, checked up to see how he was doing, and then he was briefed by Kun on how all the WayV members were doing. And sometimes Ten would bring up Yukhei in between the memes they shared with each other on Instagram but usually, Jungwoo would ignore the jab of pain that he felt in his heart and instead he pretended to be interested happy to hear about his dearly missed best friend.</p><p>With the time he spent looking emptily up at the small unevenness of the roof, thinking about his life and the lack of Yukhei in it, Jungwoo was extremely excited when he was informed of nct 127's comeback that was in the planning and expected to be performed not too long from when they had been notified. What was even better was that another comeback was being put right after it so it was a two in one kind of deal.</p><p>Now finally Jungwoo could do something else than wallow in self-pity and he could restrict himself from always checking his phone to see if the person he wished texted him really had.</p><p>Jungwoo put himself 100%, maybe even 110%, into training for their next comeback, waiting no time for anything other than dancing, singing, recording, eating, and sleeping.<br/>He didn't even put aside time to reply to the hilarious text Ten sent or take the few calls from Kun.</p><p>As the days went by it became rare that he talked to anyone other than the 127 members and instead he silently watched from the sideline how WayV gained fans and popularity and he observed how his friends evolved and developed into better people and better performers.</p><p>Even though he missed them, Yukhei, awfully much he couldn't help a bittersweet proudness to expand his heart. He saw how Yukhei became more serious while still withholding his wonderful childish charm, how he went from a slender, and tall boy, whose limbs were too big for the rest of him, to a tall, well-nourished, and muscular boy whose limbs were much bigger than everyone else's but still fit perfectly with the scale of his body.</p><p>Yukhei became professional and Jungwoo was so insanely proud of his best friend for accomplishing everything he did.</p><p>The loneliness became a smaller part of Jungwoo's day, it moved to the back of his mind and wasn't a part of his body anymore. He made it by and he started to brighten up with each passing hour, the sadness becoming more of a backhanded thought and the proudness took over. A much nicer feeling filled Jungwoo's chest. He could be fine on his own, his happiness was no longer dependent on others, not even on Yukhei.</p><p>But when it was announced that WayV was coming back to Korea for a joined comeback between all units, Jungwoo couldn't help but light up, ecstatic by the thought of seeing Yukhei soon.</p><p>When the day arrived, Jungwoo was like a puppy hearing its owner's keys dangling from the keyhole before they stepped in, tail wagging in excitement and small barks of love leaving its mouth.</p><p>He almost vibrated in his spot with all the enthusiasm collected in his body and he couldn't help but move his leg up and down at a quick pace.</p><p>The few other members, Yuta, Taeyong, and Dongyoung, who had waited up as well for the arrival of the band members they hadn't seen in so long, looked tenderly at him, knowing how the absence of the WayV members had affected the delicate and precious Jungwoo.</p><p>When the first sound of footsteps outside the door sounded in the cozily quiet room, Jungwoo was already at his feet at the end of the sofa.  He kept his place there, though, and he wrung his hands nervously. He didn't want to overwhelm them after all, and they came directly from the airport so, he reasoned, they must be as tired as they could ever be.</p><p>The door was almost thrown open by someone strong, someone who filled up the whole doorway where he stood. Jungwoo immediately recognized it as Yukhei.</p><p>Yukhei stood with his eyes wide open, clearly searching for something in the living room in which he had a full view of from the door opening. Before he could find whatever he was trying to spot, he was harshly pushed by a sleepy Ten who looked to be tired of Yukhei's nonsense.</p><p>"He is literally in front of you. Could you please get your act together, I'm so tired and I can't take any more foolishness. I think I've got enough to last the rest of my life with all the time I've spent with you, Yukhei," Ten exhaustedly grumbled out as he threw himself on the couch.</p><p>Both Jungwoo and Yukhei ignored his irritated words as well as the rest of the members, who stumbled in through the door, because they had just gotten eye contact from across the room.</p><p>Yukhei's eyes brightened so contrastingly that Jungwoo was almost blinded.</p><p>Jungwoo still wore his heart for all to see, not having developed a brick wall to keep his emotions safe from prying eyes in all the time Yukhei had been gone and it was really no surprise for anyone, not even Jungwoo himself, when he promptly started crying where he was standing.</p><p>His legs shook under him and the happy tears violently spilled from his eyes as tiny whimpers and whines escaped from his wobbly, plump lips.</p><p>Right when his legs were about to buckle under his weight, a teary eyed Yukhei was in his sphere, pulling him into a tight, warm hug.</p><p>The two puppies embraced each other as if their lives were depending on it and kept each other close for the next few minutes while the others greated each other.</p><p>"I-I-I've missed you so much!"<br/>The wail escaped from Jungwoo's closely shut lips and right into Yukhei's ears. "You can't leave me again! Please don't. Promise me you won't. Please, promise. I can't live without you anymore, don't leave!"</p><p>Yukhei's voice was much more under control when he answered.</p><p>"I've missed you so much, Jungwoo. Everyday. There wasn't a day where I didn't think of you. I won't leave if I have any say in it, I promise."</p><p>Yukhei moved their fused bodies from their strained position standing up to a comfortable one on the sofa with Jungwoo in the younger's lap.</p><p>"Never again."</p><p>"You guys can just take your time. Me and the others are going to bed. Sleep well you two, and don't cause trouble," Dongyoung's sleepy voice interrupted the quietness.</p><p>"Yeah, sure, Hyung, we're going to bed soon anyway. We just need to calm this one down," Yukhei looked down at the more sated Jungwoo, "we'll just share a bed tonight. I think it'll be for the best."</p><p>Jungwoo clenched his legs around Yukhei's waist and his arms around his shoulders, and pulled the younger closer to himself, as close as they could become, before moving his hands through Yukhei's thick, smooth hair and hiding his tired eyes in the taller's delicious smelling neck.</p><p>Even though Yukhei had gotten his sentiment under control rather quickly, Jungwoo was thrilled anyways, that Yukhei was as moved as him and had missed him back. It was nice to know he wasn't the only one who had gone through the awful hurt of missing his best friend.</p><p>"I missed you so much, Jungwoo, you won't even believe how much. And when our texting fell out I was so sad, you can ask Kun-Hyung, I roomed with him."</p><p>"My days were so meaningless without you here, Yukhei. I don't think I can ever be without you."</p><p>"You can be without me, Jungwoo, but you just won't need to anymore. I overheard the manager talking about how we're going to stay here for a long time. Apparently we hit it big with the Korean fans."</p><p>"It's not 'apparently' it's more an 'of course' because with the talent you guys have you were bound to be a hit. Which is good news for me because then my heart will never have to hurt so much anymore. I'm so proud of you, Yukhei, you do know that, right?"</p><p>Yukhei blushed a light pink and he looked away abashed.</p><p>"Thank you, Jungwoo, I do know that and I'm proud of you as well. You've done so well."</p><p>They sat on the soft sofa in a comfortable silence for a while before Jungwoo starting to fall between consciousness and unconscious.</p><p>"We better move to the bed. I won't leave, I'll sleep beside you the whole night so we won't have to part."</p><p>Jungwoo solely hummed an agreement and continued to switch between being awake and being half asleep.</p><p>"You wear your heart on your sleeve, Jungwoo, I can always tell what you feel and I really love that about you. You're always honest. But it must tire you out so much, always having to hide your feeling and not being able to. You must be extra tired from crying so much. Don't worry about falling asleep, I'll carry you to bed and we'll see each other again in the morning. I'll be the first thing you see, I promise."</p><p>Jungwoo nodded and then he was lifted up by Yukhei's strong arms. They moved down the hall and into Jungwoo's room where his perfect bed that had more than enough space for them both awaited them.</p><p>Jungwoo's heart finally relaxed in his chest and it stitched itself up from where it longingly had been broken. Jungwoo was sated now that he had his beloved best friend in his arms again.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. 𝙼𝚊𝚛𝚔</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Studying is boring and especially hard at night.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Jungwoo debuted, he had already graduated from school, and every memory from his school life kind of blurred out in the back of his mind with all his other insignificant recallings.</p>
<p>One thing he did remember, however, was how much he had hated studying, how it disgusted him right to his core that he had to stay up at night reading up for all his subjects- do his homework- instead of playing video games or sleeping.</p>
<p>The way his only half-opened eyes droopingly had stung when he diligently had sat at his desk in awful light, reading, reading, and reading, had scarred him from ever learning a new subject ever since he left school.</p>
<p>But then the success had caught up to him and the rest of the band members, and while that made him ecstatic it also meant that the need for communication increased. He spoke perfect Korean, of course, but English became the main language whenever they traveled outside South Korea.</p>
<p>His English-speaking friends, especially Mark, had told him how much progress he had done since they started touring, applauded him for how quickly he had picked up the basic vocabulary while on the road. They were proud, Mark had said, insanely proud of him for trying as hard as he did.</p>
<p>All that, however, didn't change the fact that he still had a long way before he could speak English anywhere near fluently and the need for him to study the language became apparent.</p>
<p>Jungwoo was not happy about the revelation, the opposite was actually what he felt. Annoyance and frustration the only thing that took rest in his chest at the thought of 'voluntarily' studying. But as the good boy he was, he followed the instructions from his company and, like always, he did as he was told.</p>
<p>That decision found him in the darkness of the night, frustrated and, above all, tired out of his mind, struggling hard with the ridiculous grammar of whether it was am, are, or is.</p>
<p>His head was pounding heavily and he had been sitting there for hours, stuck at the same question as he had begun, and the clock must have been 2 am at least. His body was as angry at him as he was himself because it was used to being asleep at 11 pm at the latest and now it was being forced to work and think and doing things it didn't wish to.</p>
<p>The words were starting to mix together and Jungwoo could no longer see the sentences clearly. He would have gone to sleep then, the whole thing being a sign that he was too tired to continue but the only problem was that the exercises were homework for the next day and he knew if he didn't have them done for the class, he would have to answer questions he could not answer. It was one of his biggest fears.</p>
<p>He was stuck and everything seemed impossible.</p>
<p>Then an angered shout sounded from the next door room, the voice complaining to Donghyuck loudly. It was no doubt Mark, probably being killed in his video game.</p>
<p>And at the shock of the sudden shout, Jungwoo was reminded of how he was literally in a band with fluent English speakers that could help him if needed.</p>
<p>Jungwoo sat, fidgeting and squirming, in his chair, contemplating if he should go out and ask one of them.</p>
<p>He knew Johnny and Yoonoh would be asleep, both appreciating their beauty sleep and especially when they practically lived at the gym, using up all their energy there. And he had just heard Mark still being awake, along with Donghyuck. Jungwoo came to the conclusion that if he really pleaded with the younger, begged and used his puppy eyes to his best abilities, maybe promised the boy a favor or two, Mark would probably help him.</p>
<p>So the tired boy left his working station to walk to the room next door, trying to make his steps as light as possible so he wouldn't wake anyone else, and with his dancing skills, it was almost completely successful.</p>
<p>When he made it to the door and pushed it open gently it gave out a squeak that sounded so loud in the tranquil and quiet night. Both the younger boys sitting in front of a computer screen inside the room shifted their heads to look at what had made the sound. They looked relieved when they saw it was Jungwoo, probably because they had watched a scary movie earlier, and then they looked questioning at him, wondering what he was doing in their room so late at night.</p>
<p>"Jungwoo-Hyung, why are you still awake? It's...." Donghyuck looked at the digital clock on the computer, "it's two in the morning."</p>
<p>Both Mark and Donghyuck looked surprised when they realized the time, having been too caught up in their game. Jungwoo looked around their room and discovered multiple sources that could explain their energy. Cans of coffee were randomly splayed all over the room and small bags of gummi bears lay on the bed. Jungwoo was not at all taken back by this, knowing the two youngest all too well.</p>
<p>"I should be asking you two the same exact question. Why are you still up? You need more sleep to grow, you're both still young."</p>
<p>"Hyung, you're only a few years older than us. You should be asleep too," Donhyuck, ever so sarcastic, rolled his eyes.</p>
<p>Mark put out a satiating hand and caressed the back of Donghyuck's head to keep the tired boy from getting annoyed, as he usually did of too little sleep. They all knew, sadly, because of how many times they've spent with him in an exhausted state.</p>
<p>"Do you need anything? We were in the middle of a game so...."</p>
<p>Jungwoo wasn't stupid and he could take a hint when it was pushed at him.</p>
<p>"Donghyuck! Why are you talking to Jungwoo like that? You don't have to be so mean about it. You're clearly too tired to be rational, maybe you should go to sleep."</p>
<p>Donghyuck looked like a child getting scolded but was quick to obey, almost throwing himself into the bed before he was out like a light.</p>
<p>Mark caressed Jungwoo's elbow before gripping it and walking out of the room with the older in tow. When they had closed the door to the room with the sleeping Donghyuck.</p>
<p>"What did you want to ask? Donghyuck's just sleepy so don't worry about saying what you wanted. We've been up way too late and we should really sleep some more with the way schedules are at the moment."</p>
<p>That made Jungwoo hesitate. Mark should use this time to sleep, he was clearly tired beyond imagination, and could he really ask Mark to study with him? It was not fair of him to demand such of Mark, it was too selfish.</p>
<p>"... I... I-I just wanted some, uhmm, help. You know. With studying. English, that is. And I know you're good at it, of course, you are, so I just wanted your help... Uhmm yeah..."</p>
<p>"Of course, Jungwoo! I'll gladly help you," Mark disregarded his own tired state and pulled Jungwoo with him, again, but this time into Jungwoo's room where the study lamp was still on and papers were messily spread out on his desk.</p>
<p>Jungwoo rubbed at his neck, abashed, and then nervously twiddle with his bangs that fell into his eyes. He had never actually gotten help to study from one of his band members and he found it a tad bit embarrassing, especially since Mark was a year younger and it should Jungwoo who helped Mark.</p>
<p>"So yeah... Uhm this is my homework and I'm really confused."</p>
<p>"Let's sit down and look at it together and then I can help you understand it."</p>
<p>So Jungwoo took his papers and his pencil case and they settled themselves on the bed where they spread out the papers. Jungwoo began where he had been stuck a little while before and looked at Mark helplessly.</p>
<p>"Oh! I too had a hard time figuring out if it was am, are, or is when I was younger. But then my mother taught me the saying and I learned it so I could say it in sleep."</p>
<p>And Mark sweetly taught Jungwoo the song and they repeated it so many times that Jungwoo could say it front to back.</p>
<p>All the tasks were too easy after that. He was quickly done and Mark praised him. Jungwoo couldn't help but to keen happily at the compliments and lay back onto his bed.</p>
<p>"Good job, Jungwoo, you're doing so much progress. You learned the saying so quickly! You're so smart."</p>
<p>Mark let out a yawn so big that Jungwoo could see all the pearly white teeth in the younger's mouth, and he felt bad, guilty, all over again.</p>
<p>Here Mark was, working all the time, until his muscles ached, until his limbs gave after under the pressure, and still helping a friend in need even though he himself wouldn't gain anything from it. Jungwoo couldn't believe how wholesome and kind Mark was.</p>
<p>Of course, Mark would sacrifice his sleep to aid one of his friends, of course, he would put his friends' needs before his own. Jungwoo pouted at the younger when the thoughts really took place in his head.</p>
<p>"Why are you pouting? Don't look at me like that! It makes my knees shake, you know that. I feel like I did something wrong."</p>
<p>"But you did! You always put everyone else before yourself and you sacrificed your own health just to help me! You'll end up like a zombie, not getting enough rest."</p>
<p>"I thought you wanted my help?"</p>
<p>"I did, I do! But, but you need sleep..." <br/>Jungwoo's fighting-spirit dwindled out and he returned to pouting.</p>
<p>"I know, Jungwoo," Mark laughed, "and I do prioritize myself first, I take care of myself, but it's so rare that you ever ask for help so I thought it was fine to do it this one time. I could tell that you were about as tired as I was."</p>
<p>"Thank you, Mark, seriously, you're honestly the best. Do you know how kind you are? You're so helpful and sweet. I don't know what I would have done without you in our team."</p>
<p>Marl looked touched before he laughed, a little wetly, and Jungwoo knew he would never admit it if Jungwoo was ever to bring it up again. The younger reached out to pull Jungwoo into his lap, half laying against his chest and half laying on the bed.</p>
<p>Mark pulled him into a headlock before ruffling his hair, rubbing his scalp somewhat violently and it almost hurt a little bit but because Mark was caressing his waist at the slip of skin that was not covered by his shirt, it wasn't painful, and instead, they fell into a giggling mess, both of them.</p>
<p>Mark dug his fingers into Jungwoo's tender sides and the giggling turned into panicked laughing when Jungwoo begged for Mark to stop.</p>
<p>"No! Stop," his sentence was interrupted by a series of giggles. <br/>His eyes filled with tears from laughter. Mark was almost laughing just as much as the one being tickled and both of their jaws were hurting, their abdominal muscles aching from being used too much.</p>
<p>"No more, no more. Stop it! Markie, stop."</p>
<p>When the younger didn't show any signs of going to stop, Jungwoo used his legs to throw over Mark's waist before using his strength to flip so that Jungwoo sat on the rascal's stomach where he could finally breathe.</p>
<p>Just as he was finally catching his breath a knock came from Donghyuck's room, a grumpy complaint coming from the sleepy younger, demanding them to be quiet so he could sleep.</p>
<p>When the two at fault caught each other's eyes, they let out silenced giggles, trying to keep it down so that they didn't annoy the younger from the room next door who could be terribly terrifying if he was upset enough.</p>
<p>Jungwoo flopped down on top of Mark, letting all of his weight relax on the younger one who didn't protest the slightest, surprisingly, and then he tugged his head under Mark's so he could rest on top of the rapper's chest that was sturdier than what people would think.</p>
<p>He curled up and the both of them squirmed around until they found a comfortable position.</p>
<p>"Mmmh, thank you, Mark. You were such a big help. I promise if I ask for help again, I'll do it at a reasonable time."</p>
<p>Mark chuckled before moving his hand up and petting Jungwoo's head and caressing his bangs out of his eyes.</p>
<p>"Of course, you can always come and ask me for help. Even if it's three in the morning." </p>
<p>With Mark's comfortingly petting and the way their breaths fell into a synchronized rhythm, Jungwoo couldn't help but let the sleepiness catch up to him. His droopy lids finally closed and the itchiness dulled into something less irritating.</p>
<p>"Will you sleep here, Markie? Can you, please? You're so comfortable."</p>
<p>"Yeah sure, I'll stay. Go to sleep. Goodnight, Jungwoo."</p>
<p>"Sleep well, Mark."</p>
<p>Then Jungwoo felt the rapper's hands slowly come to a stop at the top of his head and figured the younger had fallen asleep, his deep breath a sure indication.</p>
<p>Not long after, Jungwoo was snuffling in his sleep and the two puppies were comfortably curled up with each other, keeping the other warm.</p>
<p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. 𝚇𝚒𝚊𝚘𝚓𝚞𝚗</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>SMTown holds their first Halloween party after the two-year drought they brought upon the suffering fans. This year, though, Rose and Jack aren't the favorite couple.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>If you're perhaps a new stan, Xiaojun's real name is Dejun and that's the name I'll be using in this story. Just so there are no uncertainties or any confusion in that regard.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Halloween may only be one day but if you were an artist under SM Entertainment you knew how much preparation went into that one special occasion once a year.</p>
<p>Months in advance, artists were already brainstorming possible costumes, agreeing on who to dress up with, if it should be group costumes, duos, or just a solo dress-up.</p>
<p>The makeup look was to be prepared so the make-up artists would know what to do and how much time it would take. The hair was very important too because it was critical to know if they needed a wig, if the hair should be bleached and colored before, or if it should be styled in a specific way.</p>
<p>The Halloween party at SM Entertainment was the most anticipated event of the year and the pressure was on.</p>
<p>If Jungwoo was to be honest, then Halloween wasn't his favorite time of the year, he much rather enjoyed Christmas which went on for a whole month, and was a holly and jolly time to prepare for the year that was soon coming.</p>
<p>He didn't exactly have anything against Halloween per se, it was fine, but it only lasted one day on the last 24 hours of the month of October and the whole modern purpose of the holiday was to scare and frighten people and that really wasn't Jungwoo's cup of tea.</p>
<p>He would usually tremble at the smallest things.</p>
<p>When the wooden floor made the smallest creak in the dark of the night when it gave under to the pressure of the weight from people walking over it, he would squeal in fear and hide underneath his duvet, pulling it over his head.</p>
<p>He was scared of the dark, scared of sudden noises, scared of loud notices, scared of clowns, scared of dolls, scared of too much quietness, and he was low-key and border lining on scared of Nakomoto Yuta, sometimes, especially when he got angry. He was funnily enough also birthed in the same exact month.</p>
<p>But to sum it up; Jungwoo and Halloween didn't really mix well and therefore the excitement the rest of SM Town experienced up to the event was nothing Jungwoo himself could relate to.</p>
<p>Really, the only feeling besides slight nervousness was probably dread and most of all he just wanted the entire party to go by as quick as possible.</p>
<p>The year before, Jungwoo had been new, basically just debuted in a group of wonderfully talented people who worked harder than he had ever experienced and he had been something much more than just overwhelmed when he was suddenly expected to publicly appear at the Halloween gathering.</p>
<p>At first, he had planned to go as a vampire, werewolf, maybe a zombie. Just something easy. But then he had changed his opinion to not wanting to go at all, and while his members eagerly discussed what their plans for costumes were, Jungwoo had silently listened to them, indulging them and hoping they wouldn't ask him.</p>
<p>Of course, he hadn't been lucky and the ever so attentive Jung Yoonoh had tried to pry it out of him and he had, at last, admitted he wasn't going.</p>
<p>After that, an outrage had occurred in their living dorm and they all insisted that he would have to go. Especially because he was new. They rationalized it by telling him how he could make new friendships, that the food was absolutely delicious and when he was still hesitant and slightly nervous, Yoonoh came with the idea that they dressed up together.</p>
<p>Jungwoo didn't know why but this proposition had made him relax slightly and he had been quick to agree, already browsing his mind for duo costumes.</p>
<p>Having someone by his side made Jungwoo more secure and if they dressed up in a matching costume he would not be ridiculed for his choice of clothing, or at least he wouldn't be the only one. He knew Yoonoh was way too confident for anyone to make him feel embarrassed and that was how Jungwoo ended up going to his first SM Halloween party dressed as Rose from Titanic with Yoonoh by his side, attired as Jack.</p>
<p>Now the whole thing was to be repeated again but this time Jungwoo was not the new one and it was as if the others automatically expected him to be totally fine by going himself. He wasn't, though, and he seemed to be even more nervous now with the way his costume the year before had been such a big success and had gotten so much attention. It made the expectations sky high and he trembled with nerves.</p>
<p>He didn't seem to be the only one.</p>
<p>Lucas was over confidentially bragging about his costume to Kun, who was diligently sewing patches on to his own, YangYang and Kunhang were fighting with the fake weapons that matched their dress up, Ten was sauntering around in his dress that breezed delicately at his movements, Sicheng was browsing the internet for ideas, and only Dejun was looking dejected, sitting in the sofa placed at the corner of the practice room.</p>
<p>Jungwoo had just stepped into the room where he was bombarded with the wild mess that was WayV when he noticed Dejun.</p>
<p>He instantly remembered how nervous and regretful he had been of the Halloween party when he'd just debuted himself and he saw himself in Dejun, filled with nerves,  exhausted, and somehow feeling small.</p>
<p>He recalled how Dejun, YangYang, and Kunhang had just debuted and that this was their first SM Halloween event.</p>
<p>Dejun was usually filled with energy, a smile never leaving his pretty face, but now his eyes seemed to lack its familiar sparkle of excitement.</p>
<p>Suddenly a feeling of protectiveness filled Jungwoo's chest and he could no longer stand to see his friend so stressed about a thing that should not stress him at all.</p>
<p>Determinedly, he walked over to the couch where his sulking band member sat and placed himself right before Dejun, crouching down to get at eye level.</p>
<p>"Why are you sulking?"</p>
<p>Dejun turned his head, showing his high cheekbones and sharp jawline, and it was clear that he was ashamed of whatever he felt.  He looked down, focusing his eyes on his lap where he fiddled nervously with his fingers. </p>
<p>It was no secret that Jungwoo and Dejun were not the closest of friends in the group and it was not often that they hung out but it was also no secret that Jungwoo was excellent at making friends and creating atmospheres that were anything but awkward. </p>
<p>It was understandable that Dejun was a little uncomfortable talking about his feelings with someone who was not his closest friend but Jungwoo was making sure that no one of his friends went around and felt sad and he was apparently also the only one noticing Dejun's hesitation. </p>
<p>"You know, you can confide in me, I promise not to tell anyone and I  won't laugh. Not even if it's silly."</p>
<p>Dejun wavered only a second before replying. "It's just... This is my first year as an active artist under SM Entertainment and I'm a little nervous about the party. The Halloween party. What if they think my costume is lame? Or what if I embarrass myself? Everyone's already tried it, and Yangyang and Kunhang have already found their costumes. They're not even near as nervous as I am."</p>
<p>Jungwoo frowned and was ready to defend Dejun of his own words but Dejun continued his rant as if he had opened a dam that could not stop.</p>
<p>"I just don't want to disappoint anyone. You guys or the fans. I was thinking of skipping the whole event..."</p>
<p>"No, you can't! Then I'll be disappointed. I really want you there, I mean it. It would not be the same without you."</p>
<p>"But what am I supposed to wear? I don't have much time to find it, there are only a few weeks until the party."</p>
<p>Jungwoo sat himself down entirely on the floor and begun thinking. He remembered the comfort he felt when Yoonoh had suggested that the two of them went together and the lightbulb on top of his head turned on, shining brightly with the amazing idea he had. </p>
<p>"I know!" </p>
<p>Dejun jumped in his seat, having been pulled out of his own thought suddenly by the loud yell. </p>
<p>"Why don't we dress up together?! Then we'll be together the whole time and then if someone doesn't like our costume it will be the both of us who'll get the blame."</p>
<p>It seemed to get Dejun's attention and a little sparkle returned to his mischievous eyes. Clearly he thought it was a good idea and he voiced the exact agreement, "That's a great idea! Let's do that! What are you going to dress up as, Jungwoo-Hyung? Then I'll match it."</p>
<p>He had moved to the edge of the couch, grabbing both of Jungwoo's hands and tightly holding them in his own, his excitement was shining through and Jungwoo couldn't help but match his enthusiasm with a smile and a small giggle. But then he remembered, "Well...you see...I, uhm, I haven't chosen a costume yet..." </p>
<p>"Oh...then we'll have to solve that problem first."</p>
<p>Jungwoo let go of the younger's hands and slumped down on the floor again, starting a stream of thoughts and ideas. </p>
<p>"What's happening over here?" Kun asked and he must have walked over while they were deep in their happy bubble. </p>
<p>"Well, Dejun and I have agreed to dress up together for the Halloween party but now we don't know what to go as. Do you have any ideas, Hyung?" </p>
<p>Kun stopped to browse for ideas as well and the three of them sat, thinking and contemplating. Just then as a loud shout came from the other side of the room. </p>
<p>"I will not give up! You will never win against me, I am the one who lived!" It was Yangyang who had broken the silence that had been filling the room. He and Kunhang were mock fighting with their swords. </p>
<p>"I am Voldemort and you will never defeat me. Give up now and I will show you mercy."</p>
<p>"Never! Avada Kedavra!"</p>
<p>And as Kunhang dramatically fell to the floor, clutching his heart as if he had actually been hit, the idea hit Jungwoo. </p>
<p>"Let's go as Harry Potter! You can be Harry because you have dark hair and I'll go as... I'll go as Draco Malfoy!"</p>
<p>Dejun liked the idea, Jungwoo could see, and he clapped his hands wildly to agree. </p>
<p>"That's such a good idea. We'll get the wands and everything. Let's go order it now!" And the two of them were out of the room in under 30 seconds. </p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Jungwoo sat in a chair, head tilted back as a sweet woman was putting on a thin layer of makeup onto his face. A little blush to make him look more alive because his face was otherwise made entirely pale, and a dark mascara to make his eyelashes noticeable. Behind stood Dejun and supervised the transformation because he was making sure everything was perfect. His long fingers were deep into Jungwoo's white, blonde hair and they messaged his scalp while they waited for the makeup artist to finish with him. </p>
<p>Dejun was already done. His hair was fluffy and pulled little to each side, creating a middle part, so his lightning scar could be seen. On his face, there was even less makeup because his natural smooth skin fit the image as Harry Potter perfectly and the only thing decorating his sharp face was the dark frame of round glasses sitting perfectly on his nose.  </p>
<p>They only needed to dress into their robes and get their wands from Jungwoo's dorm room before they were ready to meet the others to collectively drive to the company building. </p>
<p>"You look so pretty," Dejun whispered while his fingers scratched the spot on the back of Jungwoo's head that always made him sigh pleasantly. </p>
<p>"Mmhh, you do as well. I really like the glasses, you should do a concept with them the next time you have a comeback."</p>
<p>In the few weeks where the two of them worked together on their matching costume, they had gotten so close that skinship and deep talks were comfortable and happened often. They hung out alone without other members and they did it without encouragement from anyone. </p>
<p>Dejun leaned down to nuzzle Jungwoo's cheek with his nose but was gently scolded by the makeup artist, saying he was ruining the delicately placed blush. Jungwoo laughed at Dejun before putting his hands on the back of his neck and pulling him down to bite his cheek. </p>
<p>"Jungwoo, that hurt! Now there's going to be a mark." He complained but it was apparent that he was not really angry with the way his voice took on a light tone and the way he smiled at the end of his sentence.</p>
<p>With the time they had spent together, Jungwoo had learned of and gotten to know Dejun's gentle soul. He was as considerate as he was silly, as funny as he was serious.  The way his gentle and deep voice perfectly showed his gentle and deep soul, made something inside Jungwoo warm. </p>
<p>Just then, Johnny walked into the room with a small camera. He was talking animatedly in English and it was probably for his YouTube channel. </p>
<p>"Here we have Jungwoo and XiaoJun who are dressing up together. These two have been very close lately. What are you guys going as?"</p>
<p>"I'm Harry Potter and Jungwoo-Hyung is going as Draco Malfoy."</p>
<p>"And how did you come up with this idea?"</p>
<p>"Oh, you see, Yangyang and Hendery were playing loudly, like always, and this time they were playing Harry Potter so the idea just came to us."</p>
<p>"It's a great idea, guys. Look nice. I'll have to go say hi to the rest but see you at the party," Johhny said before moving to the next dressing room where the dreamies were getting ready.</p>
<p>It didn't take long before Jungwoo's hair and makeup was done, so they were fast to dress into their black robes.</p>
<p>Jungwoo's was decorated with a green and silver batch on his chest and around his neck, he had a silver and green tie representing the Slytherin house. Dejun's was the same except his accessories were in a golden yellow and scarlet to represent the Gryffindor house. </p>
<p>Jungwoo was satisfied with their costumes and so was Dejun. </p>
<p>And the fans turned out to be as well because the next day they were all over social media. The fans had been so excited when the first picture of Draco Jungwoo and Harry Dejun had appeared on the NCT Instagram and when the picture showed the two of them hugging, the fans had gone absolutely wild.</p>
<p>In a corner, the two of them had been sitting, talking, and enjoying some of the snacks when Dejun had hugged Jungwoo and thanked him for making sure he came to the party, and for several seconds they had enjoyed each other's embrace. In those seconds, Chenle and Donghyuck had secretly sneaked a picture of them and posted it. </p>
<p>They trended on Twitter for a few hours and again, Jungwoo was complimented for looking delicate, elegant, and pretty, just like he had the year before, and Dejun was just happy that his costume hadn't been criticized. </p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hi guysssss :) <br/>I was wondering if you would like it if I took a 'break', where I won't post until I'm finished writing all the shots and then I can post once a week, or if you'd rather I continue what I'm doing now, where I write them as I go along and post whenever I'm finished. <br/>Let me know what you prefer :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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